What a “great idea” Ben Herbst had! Befriend an elderly, frail
and sickly Italian immigrant
next door neighbor by the name of Enrico Mancini.
Mr. Mancini was somewhat estranged from his family and living alone. Apparently not being someone who would pass up a golden
opportunity Ben Herbst was as nice to him as possible - eventually convincing Mr.
Mancini to sell his house to him before he died. He not only did that but
eventually forgave the entire amount owed for the house out of gratitude. It’s
a win/win. The elderly neighbor gets his chicken soup every Friday night and
you get his house for free after he dies. Which he did at age 98.
This is how it’s done by Jewish “geniuses” like Boro Park resident,
Ben Herbst. At least this is his version
of the story. But there is another version of events. His claim to the property
was contested by Mancini’s daughter in law, Serafina Mancini who at age 71
thought she had inherited the house and was about to move in.
Of course when she arrived, there was no house. Mr. Herbst
had demolished it and started construction on an expansion of his own house. A
quick check of the records showed that indeed the house was now in the name of
Mr. Herbst’s son and daughter in law who lived with him.
Ms. Mancini’s lawyer, William Cahill, claimed that the
documents were forged and was going to
prove it. But as explained in an article in the New York Observer, Mr. Herbst
put a lien on the property claiming that he borrowed $500,000 against it.
That made it difficult to wrest control from Mr. Herbst even if they could
prove that documents had been forged.
Which version is true? I don’t know but that does not take
away from the Chilul HaShem that is caused by this fellow. He either stole the
property or conned an innocent old man out of it. Why? Because of his own
selfish interest. He wanted to expand his property. And except for the actual
building costs - he found a way to do it for free.
Does the evidence point to fraud? The article points out how
easy it is to forge documents like this and get away with it. It also noted
that Mr. Herbst had spent some time in jail and shows some shady characters he
has dealt with in the past - and the shady deals they both made. I would not put
fraud past him. Despite his vulgar accusation
that it was “the other guy” who was the crook and not him.
How do I know he is observant? This article also reports that
Mr. Herbst’s background is in “rabbinical courts”. So at least he pretends to be.
Innocent or guilty in this case - it is people like Ben
Herbst that give Judaism a bad name. Big time! Here is a Jew who walks around
pretending to be religious Jew and yet becomes a con artist when it suits his purposes.
Had he been nice to that elderly neighbor and not
capitalized on it for financial gain, he could have made an enormous Kiddush
HaShem. Instead he chose to cleverly line his pockets - his image as a religious
Jew be damned.
I don’t know Mr. Herbst.
May be this story is completely false and he is an innocent person here –
both kind and caring. The article reports that he does have a company that
helps people of all denomination and race restructure their loans. Maybe this
is just a hatchet job by the media gone wild – twisting a story and maligning
an innocent man for purposes of sensationalist journalism and increased
circulation. But I doubt it. Mr. Herbst
apparently has a history of doing this kind of thing.
Ms. Mancini eventually won her case. She was awarded the
property and a “$569,000 judgment against Mr. Herbst and his family earlier
this year, almost seven years after the whole mess began. The Mancini home, or
what’s left of it, was recently sold by Mrs. Mancini for $730,000.” So justice
was served.
But even if Mr. Herbst’s version of events (as reported in
the story) were completely true his behavior here his does not even come close
to meeting the standards of decent behavior for a religious Jew or any Jew. It
doesn’t even meet the standards of behavior for a decent human being. I am embarrassed
and disgusted by it.
