Monday, April 28, 2008

Case of Zalman Silber

Case of Zalman Silber 
Yeshiva University - Washington Heights, NY
Monsey, NY
Manhattan, NY
Borough Park, NY
 

Silber's defense attorney is former Rockland County prosecutor Kenneth Gribetz, who stepped down after his proclivities for wearing women's clothing and a dog collar were exposed by the New York Daily News more than a decade ago.

Silber allegedly fooled his victims by saying the exams were part of a medical survey, prosecutors said. Investigators in the NYPD's Manhattan special victims unit believe Silber's "exams" may have started in 2003 and were checking into the possibility that there are more victims.

He was released on $10,000 bail after a court appearance in Manhattan. Gribetz told the judge his client earned more than $1 million a year.

Zalman Silber made millions in the 1990s offering tourists simulated helicopter rides around the city through the New York Skyride at the Empire State Building.

Silber moved to the Rockland County community from Borough Park, Brooklyn, a year ago, neighbors said.

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Table of Contents:

1995
  1. Letter from Mayor Rudy Giuiliani (03/28/1995)
  2. Yeshiva Universiy Award (04/07/1995)


1998
  1. How to Get Your First Great Idea (04/1998)
  2. Skyline Multimedia Entertainment Announces Short-term Financing by Institutional Investors  (05/28/1998)

2008
  1. Suspected Fake Gynecologist Arrested (06/13/2008)
  2. Businessman charged with playing doctor (06/13/2008)
  3. Ex-chief of Empire State Building Skyride accused in fake gyno exams (06/13/2008)
  4. Alleged fake doctor arrested (06/13/2008)
  5. Monsey man accused of pretending to be gynecologist (06/13/2008)
  6. Fake-Gyno Perv Arrested (06/13/2008)
  7. Cops: Phony Park Avenue Gynecologist Arrested (06/14/2008)
  8. Police: Accused of Fake Gynecologist Had Coop's Help (06/17/2008)
  9. Rockland cop tied to fake gynecologist (06/17/2008)
  10. Cop is part of fake gynecological exams (06/17/2008) 
  11. More Details About Suspected Fake Gynecologist (06/17/2008) 
  12. Rockland Cop Tied to Gyno Ghoul:  Jewish bizman had helper (06/17/2008)
  13. Police: Accused of Fake Gynecologist Had Coop's Help (06/18/2008)
  14. Acusado de abuso sexual hombre que se hizo pasar por ginecólogo en Nueva
    (08/25/2008)
  15. Sex charges for phony GYN (08/26/2008)
  16. Abuse Rap Grows For Gyno Ghoul  (08/26/2008)
  17. Faux Gyno Groped 4 Women: DA (08/26/2008)
  18. Phony insurance survey, sex abuse allege (08/26/2008)
  19. Monsey, NY - Judge Tosses 26 Charges in Sex Case (12/17/2008)

2009
  1. NY Minute (10/08/2009)
  2. Manhattan District Attorney Dismisses All Charges Against Millionaire Businessman Zalman Silber (12/29/2009)

2013
  1. Zalman Silber, Business Entrepreneur and Philthropist (01/21/2013)

Also see:

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Letter from Mayor Rudy Giuiliani  
March 28, 1995

 



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Yeshiva Universiy Award
Sy Syms School of Business - April 7, 1995 


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How to Get Your First Great Idea
By: Samuel Fromartz
Inc.com - April, 1998
Five rules to follow that will help you recognize valuable business ideas. Includes case studies of entrepreneurs who quickly transformed ideas into start-up companies. 

The best business ideas aren't hard to find. They're just hard to see Zalman Silber's nearly $9-million entertainment business sprang from one simple observation: all these people must need something to do.
Back in 1991, Silber was working as an agent for New York Life Insurance Co., located in that tourist mecca otherwise known as the Empire State Building. Watching the crush of visitors who piled into the elevator every day, Silber reasoned that there were profits to be made in offering an indoor experience for the out-of-towners, especially for those who found their view clouded by uncooperative weather.
 
Seeking something with a modern, high-tech appeal, he came up with the notion of a simulated helicopter tour of the Big Apple. So appealing was his concept--or at least his pitch for it--that he managed to raise $6.2 million in a February 1994 stock offering, which took place before the ride was even built. Plowing that money into the venture, he opened New York Skyride before the following Christmas. In 1996 the ride would draw about 19% of the 3.4 million tourists who made their pilgrimage to the skyscraper that year. Aside from charging $11.50 per admission, he also has been selling customers hot dogs on the way out of the skyride. "The lesson in this story is, Capitalize on and benefit from existing infrastructure," Silber, now 30, says. "Take advantage of other people's toil. That's really what everything is about." . . . . .
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Skyline Multimedia Entertainment Announces Short-term Financing by Institutional Investors
Business Wire - May 28, 1998

NEW YORK –– (BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1998 –– Skyline Multimedia Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYL), announced that it has entered into an agreement with its institutional investors relating to the financing of up to $935,000 in exchange for senior secured demand promissory notes with interest at a per annum rate equal to 14%.
 
The Company entered into this financing arrangement due to its then existing cash flow situation and its anticipated short term cash needs including an order from the Court in connection with the Company's continuing litigation against the Empire State Building Company and its affiliates, requiring the Company to pay approximately $838,000 of undisputed rental payments to the ESBCo. The Company has been unable to raise capital from traditional sources on acceptable terms.
 
In connection with the Financing, the Bank of New York, as Trustee for the Employees Retirement Plan of Keyspan Energy Corp.("Keyspan") received the right to appoint two additional members to the Company's Board of Directors. In addition, in light of the significant financial risks taken by the Institutional Investors, the Company issued warrants to the Institutional Investors which are exercisable in the event that either (a) the Company repays the Notes prior to July 15, 1998, in which event the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for up to 64% of the common stock of the Company on a fully diluted basis; or (b) the Company is unsuccessful in obtaining gross proceeds of at least $3 million pursuant to an equity financing (which may include a rights offering to existing shareholders) prior to July 15, 1998, in which event the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for up to 94% of the common stock of the Company on a fully diluted basis.
 
The exercise price will be equal to .375 per share and includes a cashless exercise feature. As a result of this issuance, there will be an adjustment to the conversion rate on the Series A Preferred Stock held by one of the institutional investors. Accordingly, the exercise of such warrants by the Institutional Investors could result in a change in control of the ownership of the Company and dilution to existing shareholders.
 
Further, as part of the Financing, Zalman Silber, President and CEO, agreed to relinquish all positions of the Company held by him and to deliver to the Company for cancellation all of his options and warrants in the Company in exchange for forgiveness of amounts owing by Silber to the Company and payment by the Company to Silber of $206,250. Additionally, as further consideration and to induce the Institutional Investors to go forward with the Financing, Silber has agreed to transfer to the Institutional Investors, all of his 960,000 shares of Class A common stock (670,000 shares of which will likely be forfeited on June 30, 1998 pursuant to existing escrow arrangements). The remaining 290,000 shares of Class A common stock are currently pledged as collateral in connection with a loan and will be transferred upon release.
 
Silber has granted an irrevocable proxy with respect to the vote of such Class A Common Stock to the Institutional Investors. Silber has also agreed not to compete with the Company in New York City for a period of ten years. Steven Schwartz, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, will assume the responsibilities of President and has been named Executive Director of Operations and Finance. The Company is in the process of hiring an Executive Director of Marketing and Business Development, who will also assume a portion of the responsibilities of the Office of the Chief Executive.
 
Headquartered in New York, Skyline Multimedia Entertainment Inc. is a holding company engaged in the development and operation of state-of-the-art entertainment attractions worldwide. New York Skyline Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, owns and operates New York Skyride, the first flight simulator attraction in the New York metropolitan area. The New York Skyride is located in the Empire State Building, New York's number one tourist attraction. Skyline Virtual Reality Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, owns and operates XS New York, New York City's first and only Virtual Reality Entertainment Center, located in the heart of Times Square.

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Suspected Fake Gynecologist Arrested
Gothamist - June 6, 2008

A married businessman was arrested for pretending to be a gynecologist and giving exams to young women at a Park Avenue building. Sources tell the Daily News that Zalman Silber of Rockland County was charged with "third-degree sexual abuse and unauthorized practice and professions for impersonating a doctor."
 
Two victims are mentioned in the charges, but the "exams" may have started in 2003, so the authorities are looking for any other victims. One of Silber's defense lawyer says her client is innocent, noting two women did not pick him out of a lineup. His other lawyer is Kenneth Gribretz, who resigned from the Rockland County DA's office after pleading guilty to misdemeanors like income tax evasion in 1995 (his mistress revealed salacious details to the U.S. Attorney's office).
 
Prosecutors says Silber, who gained notoriety as the creator of Skyride (an Empire State Building ride which offers people an simulated flight in NYC), used a third party to bring "patients" to him. A few years ago, a man in Texas was arrested for pretending to be a gynecologist--he advertised his services ("vaginal irrigation") in a newspaper and ran his scam in a storage facility.

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Businessman charged with playing doctor
United Press International - June 13, 2008

NEW YORK, June 13 (UPI) -- A New York businessman has been charged with molesting at least two women by pretending to be a doctor and performing internal exams.
 
Zalman Silber, 40, of Monsey, N.Y., was arrested Thursday at home, the New York Daily News reported. He was released on $10,000 bail after a court appearance Friday morning in Manhattan.
 
Silber reportedly operated out of a Manhattan building where many doctors have offices. Amy Hare, an assistant district attorney, said he used an intermediary to procure his "patients," who were told they were participating in a survey.
 
"Those women assumed they were going to see a real doctor," she said.
 
Silber is charged with molesting two women, ages 18 and 20. But police sources told the News that investigators believe he may have begun his activities in 2003.
 
In the 1990s, Silber created the Skyride at the Empire State Building, which gives tourists a simulated helicopter tour of the city. 
 
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Ex-chief of Empire State Building Skyride accused in fake gyno exams
BY BARBARA ROSS, KERRY BURKE and ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS - June 13, 2008

The former operator of the Empire State Building's Skyride was charged Thursday with pretending to be a doctor so he could give unsuspecting women "gynecological exams," police and prosecutors said.
 
Wealthy businessman Zalman Silber, 40, was arrested at his Monsey, N.Y., home Thursday morning and accused of molesting two women, ages 18 and 20, in his twisted charade, sources said.
 
He hired as his defense lawyer disgraced former Rockland County prosecutor Kenneth Gribetz, who stepped down after his proclivities for wearing women's clothing and a dog collar were exposed by the Daily News more than a decade ago.
 
"It doesn't often get stranger than this," a police source said.
 
Silber, a Hasidic Jew and father of five, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse and unauthorized practice and professions for impersonating a doctor, law enforcement sources said.
 
Silber's pregnant wife, (NAME REMOVED), declined to comment at their home Thursday night. Silber moved to the Rockland County community from Borough Park, Brooklyn, a year ago, neighbors said.
 
Silber fooled his victims by saying the exams were part of a medical survey, prosecutors said.
 
Legitimate doctors who had offices in the same Manhattan building where Silber allegedly molested the women were stunned to find the polite man was accused as an imposter, sources said.
 
Investigators in the NYPD's Manhattan special victims unit believe Silber's "exams" may have started in 2003 and were checking into the possibility that there are more victims, law enforcement sources said.
 
"He asserts his innocence. We feel this is a total mistake," Gribetz said.
 
In the 1990s, Silber was considered something of a business whiz. He was hailed by Inc. magazine in 1998 for creating a $9 million business offering tourists a simulated helicopter tour of the Big Apple through the New York Skyride at the Empire State Building.
 
"Take advantage of other people's toil. That's really what everything is about," Silber told Inc.
 
Silber gave up his post as the company's president that same year and promised not to compete in the virtual entertainment industry for 10 years, according to financial documents. It was unclear why.
 
The suspect was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court early Friday morning and released on $10,000 bail. Gribetz told the judge his client earned more than $1 million a year.
 
Assistant District Attorney Amy Hare said Silber used an unnamed intermediary to bring the victims to him. "Those women assumed they were going to see a real doctor," she said.
 
In Borough Park, Alexander Halpert, 29, whose sister was formerly married to Silber, defended him.
 
"He's a good man. When someone needed a doctor, he would arrange it," he said.
 
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Alleged fake doctor arrested
ABC Eyewitness News - June 13, 2008

NEW YORK (WABC) -- An alleged fake doctor is under arrest Friday in Manhattan. Authorities say he molested two young women during what they thought were gynecological exams.
 
It allegedly happened in an office on the Upper East Side that also houses several legitimate doctors.
 
Eyewitness News reporter Phil Lipof has the story.
 
He is a wealthy businessman well-known in the Orthodox community. He has a wife and five children. But what he is accused of doing is simpy depraved.
 
We caught 40-year-old Zalman Silber getting out of his car at his Munsey home hours after being arraigned on charges he was pretending to be a gynecologist. He allegedly gave exams to at least two young women in 2003 and 2004.
 
The girls, 18 and 20 years old at the time, say it happened at a building on Park Avenue.
They say Silber touched their breasts, gave them what they thought was a gynecological exam and then made them turn on their sides for a rectal exam.
 
His attorney says no way.
 
"We firmly state that Mr. Silber is innocent of these charges," attorney Ken Gribetz said.
 
His attorney goes on to say that the line up his client stood in was questionable.
 
"There were two other women who were brought in," Gribetz said. "Both identified fill-ins who were brought in from the Hasidic community by the New York City Police Department."
 
At Silber's home, the woman who answered the door wouldn't comment on the arrest. Neither would Silber, who quickly ran away from our camera.
 
His neighbor, though, did talk to us, and was stunned by the news.
"I can't wrap my head around the whole idea," Ruth Lowenstein said. "I had absolutely no idea."
 
Silber made millions in the 90s offering tourists simulated helicopter rides around the city through the New York Skyride at the Empire State Building.
 
Prosecutors say Silber would tell his victims that the exams were part of a medical survey.
Silber's family posted $10,000 bail Friday morning. The next step is a grand jury. As for other victims, the district attorney says the investigation is ongoing.
  
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Monsey man accused of pretending to be gynecologist
The Lower Hudson Journal - June 13, 2008

A wealthy businessman from Monsey has been arrested in New York City on allegations he pretended to be a Park Avenue gynecologist.
 
The investigation into Zalman Silber, 40, started when a Rockland woman complained to local authorities that he sexually abused her, officials said yesterday.
 
Rockland investigators fear that other women might have fallen victim. They are also investigating the connection between a Ramapo police officer and Silber.
 
The police officer has been suspended without pay while an internal disciplinary hearing is held, Ramapo town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said. The officer, whom he declined to identify, is being investigated for his possible role in the alleged abuse that occurred at Silber's Grandview Avenue home, officials said.
 
"These are very serious allegations," St. Lawrence said.
Silber, a well-known philanthropist, was arraigned yesterday morning in Manhattan criminal court on two counts of unauthorized practice of a profession, a felony, and seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor.
 
"Mr. Silber is a prominent businessman who is involved in numerous philanthropic causes," said Rockland attorney Ken Gribetz, who is representing Silber. "We are hopeful that once he receives a fair hearing, these charges will be dismissed."
 
Silber was released on $10,000 bail and is due back in court Tuesday. He was required to give up his passport.
 
Silber surrendered to New York City police Thursday at the New City offices of Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.
Zugibe said yesterday that no charges have been filed against Silber in Rockland.
 
"We are appealing to the public to contact this office if they have been a victim or if they are aware of any victims of crimes committed in Rockland by Mr. Silber," he said.
 
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, two women told investigators they went to a doctor's office at 15-17 Park Avenue in Manhattan and met a man they identified as Silber.
On both occasions, he identified himself as a doctor, took the woman into an examination room and told her to undress completely and put on a gown, according to court papers.

One woman told investigators that in the summer of 2003, the suspect touched her breasts, then told the woman that he was going to conduct a pelvic exam. Once he did that, the suspect told the victim to lie on her side so he could perform a rectal exam.

A second woman told investigators that she also met with the suspect at the same office during January 2004. The suspect told her to undress, put on an examination gown and then he touched her breasts. He then looked at the woman's genitals, but did not touch her. He then told the woman to lie on her side so he could perform a rectal exam, according to court papers.

Rockland investigators alerted New York City authorities to the Park Avenue office rented by Silber.

Gribetz said the statute of limitations had run out on two of the incidents cited by investigators.

Gribetz also said that only two of four victims were able to pick Silber out of a lineup.

A longtime Monsey resident, Silber in the mid-1990s founded New York Skyride, a company that offers simulated helicopter tours of New York City from the Empire State Building.

He later sold the company for $9 million.

In a 1998 interview with Inc.com, an online business publication, Silber described his rise from an insurance agent working in an office in the Empire State Building to an entrepreneur.

He said that the development of the simulated helicopter tour began with his observation that there was a need for tourists to have an indoor experience available to them when they visited the building.

"Take advantage of other people's toil," he told the publication. "That's really what everything is about."

Silber is also known within the Jewish community for helping people pay for medical care and other services.

He is listed as an officer with Congregation Machlas Yaakov, a tax-exempt religious organization in Brooklyn.

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Fake-Gyno Perv Arrested
By LAURA ITALIANO, PHILIP MESSING and ED ROBINSON
New York Post - June 13, 2008

June 13, 2008 -- A Rockland County businessman was busted for posing as a Park Avenue gynecologist, authorities said yesterday.

A source told The Post further charges were expected against Zalman Silber, 40, for alleged sex crimes involving two female patients.

Silber was charged with two counts of unauthorized practice of a profession for posing as a gynecologist at adjacent offices on Park Avenue in 2004, law-enforcement sources said.
Silber, of Monsey, allegedly treated two women, ages 18 and 24.

In reality, Silber runs a tourist attraction in the Empire State Building that simulates a flight through New York, records show.

Silber's lawyer, Deborah Lowenberg, said her client "maintains his innocence" and that two other women failed to pick him out of a lineup.

 Former Rockland District Attorney Kenneth Gribetz, who resigned under a cloud in 1995 after pleading guilty to using county money for personal matters, is also representing Silber.


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Cops: Phony Park Avenue Gynecologist Arrested
1010 WINS - June 14, 2008

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Rockland County man is accused giving women in Manhattan gynecological exams. There's just one problem: police say he's not a doctor.
Authorities say 40-year old Zalman Silber molested at least two women in an office on Park Avenue. Investigators fear there may be more victims.

The alleged attacks happened in 2004 and involved an 18-year old girl and a woman in her 20s.

Silber was in court for arraignment Friday and released on $10,000 bail.

He's charged with unauthorized practice of a profession and sexual abuse. Silber's attorneys say he's innocent and that that only two of possibly four victims were able to pick him out of a lineup.

The wealthy businessman lives in Monsey and is well known in the Orthodox Jewish community. He once owned the New York Skyride, a simulated helicopter ride at the Empire State Building.

The Journal News reports authorities are also looking into a connection between Silber and a Ramapo cop.

The paper says the officer is being investigated for his possible role in an alleged abuse that occurred at Silber's home.

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Rockland Cop Tied to Gyno Ghoul:  Jewish bizman had helper
Simone Weichselbaum, Barbara Ross nad Alison Gendar
New York Daily News - June 17, 2008  

A HASIDIC BUSINESSMAN accused of posing as a doctor to give unsuspecting women "gynecological exams" had help in his sick scam from a Ramapo cop, sources told the Daily News. 

Zalman Silber, a 40-year-old father of five, tricked one woman into undergoing a pelvic exam by saying his friend, the Rockland County police officer, was a doctor who made house calls, sources said. 

After telling the woman that the exam was necessary if she wanted to qualify for an insurance policy, the police officer then conducted the full "exam" at a Rockland County home - while Silber allegedly watched, sources said. 

"I have . . . children so I have no comment. Please understand there's . . . children involved and the press is not good for them," the victim told The News. 

The 10-year Ramapo veteran cop has been suspended without pay for more than two months pending both internal and criminal investigations, authorities said. 

The woman's account helped investigators in Rockland County and the NYPD piece together Silber's alleged involvement in two similar Manhattan assaults. 

Silber was charged last week with unauthorized practice of a profession and sexual abuse for the alleged molestation of two women, 18 and 24 years old. 

The alleged abuse took place in an office at 15-17 Park Ave. that he specifically rented - with cash - for his escapades, sources said. 

Legitimate doctors at the address had no inkling that Silber was not a real physician. 

He told his victims that he was conducting a medical survey for an insurance company and paid both women a small stipend to take part in his "survey," sources said. 

"They knew something was wrong because you don't pinch nipples in exams like that," a law enforcement source said. 

The alleged incidents took place in 2003 and 2004, and the victims reported them right away. 

Investigators were not able to identify the mystery "doctor" until the Rockland County victim recently came forward, sources said. 

Silber has denied the charges and was released on $10,000 bail. He was required to give up his passport. 

In a strange twist, Silber hired as part of his defense team former Rockland County prosecutor Kenneth Gribetz - who stepped down after his own sexual proclivities for wearing women's clothing and a dog collar were exposed by The News more than a decade ago. 

Gribetz argued the statute of limitations had run out on at least two of the incidents detailed by investigators. 

Silber made millions in the 1990s after founding New York Skyride, a company that offered simulated helicopter tours of New York City from the Empire State Building. 
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Police: Accused of Fake Gynecologist Had Coop's Help
CBS News - June 17, 2008

Please note that the police officer who is an alleged perpetrator is NOT Jewish.

NEW YORK (CBS) Å\ A prominent Hasidic businessman from Rockland County was arrested and charged with impersonating a gynecologist to allegedly sexually assault women.

To make matters worse, the already stunning allegation grew even more shocking when CBS 2 learned that a Rockland County police officer is accused of helping him.

The alleged incidents took place inside a building on Park Avenue between 34th and 35th streets, where women told detectives they'd been molested during what they thought was a gynecological examination.

When Manhattan sex crime detectives who work out of the same building investigated, the man they arrested turned out to be Zalman Silber, a Hasidic businessman and philanthropist who moved to Rockland County from Boro Park in Brooklyn about a year ago.

Silber's lawyer is the former Rockland County District Attorney, Kenneth Gribetz, who claims that two of the four women did not pick Silber out of a lineup.

"It was a lineup conducted with numerous Hasidic people. Mr. Silber was not identified by two of the victims. Two of the victims did do it," Gribetz said.

The Ramapo Police Department is now also buzzing because a ten-year veteran has been suspended without pay after one of the women told investigators the officer pretended to be a doctor conducting an exam while Silber allegedly watched.

Though no one would talk about this story on the record, there are hearings underway at the Ramapo Town Hall that will determine the future of the police officer.

Gribetz said there is more going on than meets the eye.

"I think the facts will come out that this was an offshoot of a very upsetting divorce that transpired in Mr. Silber's life. And what is taking place is really a disgrace, and society and law enforcement owes him an apology when all the facts come out," he said.

Postponements have caused the hearing involving the Ramapo police officer accused of posing as a fake doctor to drag on for at least four weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

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Rockland cop tied to fake gynecologist
By Simone Weichselbaum, Barbara Ross and Alison Gendar
Daily News -  Tuesday, June 17th 2008


A Hasidic businessman accused of posing as a doctor to give unsuspecting women "gynecological exams" had help in his sick scam from a Ramapo cop, sources told the Daily News.

Zalman Silber, a 40-year-old father of five, tricked one woman into undergoing a pelvic exam by saying his friend, the Rockland County police officer, was a doctor who made house calls, sources said.

After telling the woman that the exam was necessary if she wanted to qualify for an insurance policy, the police officer then conducted the full "exam" at a Rockland County home - while Silber allegedly watched, sources said.

"I have ... children so I have no comment. Please understand there's ... children involved and the press is not good for them," the victim told The News.

The 10-year Ramapo veteran cop has been suspended without pay for more than two months pending both internal and criminal investigations, authorities said.

The woman's account helped investigators in Rockland County and the NYPD piece together Silber's alleged involvement in two similar Manhattan assaults.

Silber was charged last week with unauthorized practice of a profession and sexual abuse for the alleged molestation of two women, 18 and 24 years old.

The alleged abuse took place in an office at 15-17 Park Ave. that he specifically rented - with cash - for his escapades, sources said.

Legitimate doctors at the address had no inkling that Silber was not a real physician.

He told his victims that he was conducting a medical survey for an insurance company and paid both women a small stipend to take part in his "survey," sources said.

"They knew something was wrong because you don't pinch nipples in exams like that," a law enforcement source said.

The alleged incidents took place in 2003 and 2004, and the victims reported them right away.

Investigators were not able to identify the mystery "doctor" until the Rockland County victim recently came forward, sources said.

Silber has denied the charges and was released on $10,000 bail. He was required to give up his passport.

In a strange twist, Silber hired as part of his defense team former Rockland County prosecutor Kenneth Gribetz - who stepped down after his own sexual proclivities for wearing women's clothing and a dog collar were exposed by The News more than a decade ago.

Gribetz argued the statute of limitations had run out on at least two of the incidents detailed by investigators.

Silber made millions in the 1990s after founding New York Skyride, a company that offered simulated helicopter tours of New York City from the Empire State Building.

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Cop is part of fake gynecological exams
United Press International - June 17, 2008


NEW YORK, June 17 (UPI) -- A New York City businessman charged with conducting fake gynecological exams may have had a police officer partner in at least one incident.
 
Zalman Silber, 40, was charged last week with unauthorized practice of a profession and sexual abuse including the alleged molestation of two women at his Park Avenue office. He allegedly told his victims that he was conducting a medical survey for an insurance company for which he paid both women a small stipend to take part, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.
 
Another reported incident involved a Rockland County police officer who allegedly played the role of a second doctor making a house call during an "exam" at the woman's home. The 10-year veteran officer has been suspended without pay for more than two months pending both internal and criminal investigations, authorities said to the Daily News.
 
Silber founded New York Skyride company that offered simulated helicopter tours of the city from the Empire State Building.
 
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More Details About Suspected Fake Gynecologist
Gothamist - June 17, 2008


The man accused of pretending to be a Park Avenue gynecologist apparently had an accomplice. The Daily News reports that, according to sources, Monsey resident Zalman Silber "tricked one woman into undergoing a pelvic exam by saying his friend, the Rockland County police officer, was a doctor who made house calls." Sources also say the cop ended up conducting the exam in Silber's house--with Silber watching.
 
Prosecutors have charged Silber with third-degree sexual abuse and impersonating a doctor, after two victims from 2003 and 2004 picked him from a line-up. A source said the victims were tricked into thinking they were participating in an insurance company survey, "They knew something was wrong because you don't pinch nipples in exams like that." Silber also allegedly had the women "turn on their sides for a rectal exam."
 
According to the Journal News, Silber's lawyer says his client is innocent--"Mr. Silber is a prominent businessman who is involved in numerous philanthropic causes"--and claims the statute of limitations has run out on some of the incidents (some other women claim they were assaulted by Silber).


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Police: Accused of Fake Gynecologist Had Coop's Help 
CBS News - June 18, 2008

Please note that the police officer who is an alleged perpetrator is NOT Jewish.

NEW YORK (CBS)
A prominent Hasidic businessman from Rockland County was arrested and charged with impersonating a gynecologist to allegedly sexually assault women.

To make matters worse, the already stunning allegation grew even more shocking when CBS 2 learned that a Rockland County police officer is accused of helping him.

The alleged incidents took place inside a building on Park Avenue between 34th and 35th streets, where women told detectives they'd been molested during what they thought was a gynecological examination.

When Manhattan sex crime detectives who work out of the same building investigated, the man they arrested turned out to be Zalman Silber, a Hasidic businessman and philanthropist who moved to Rockland County from Boro Park in Brooklyn about a year ago.

Silber's lawyer is the former Rockland County District Attorney, Kenneth Gribetz, who claims that two of the four women did not pick Silber out of a lineup.

"It was a lineup conducted with numerous Hasidic people. Mr. Silber was not identified by two of the victims. Two of the victims did do it," Gribetz said.

The Ramapo Police Department is now also buzzing because a ten-year veteran has been suspended without pay after one of the women told investigators the officer pretended to be a doctor conducting an exam while Silber allegedly watched.

Though no one would talk about this story on the record, there are hearings underway at the Ramapo Town Hall that will determine the future of the police officer.

Gribetz said there is more going on than meets the eye.

"I think the facts will come out that this was an offshoot of a very upsetting divorce that transpired in Mr. Silber's life. And what is taking place is really a disgrace, and society and law enforcement owes him an apology when all the facts come out," he said.

Postponements have caused the hearing involving the Ramapo police officer accused of posing as a fake doctor to drag on for at least four weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.


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Acusado de abuso sexual hombre que se hizo pasar por ginecólogo en Nueva
EFE News Service (Madrid) - August 25, 2008 

Nueva York, 25 ago (EFE).- Un individuo que se hacía pasar por ginecólogo en Nueva York fue acusado de abuso sexual y otros delitos despues de atraer a diversas mujeres jóvenes para que se sometieran a un examen, informó hoy la Fiscalía de Manhattan (EE.UU.). 

El acusado, Zalman Silber, un empresario de 41 años de edad, engañó y abusó de al menos cuatro mujeres, todas ellas judías ortodoxas, según la oficina que dirige el fiscal Robert Morgenthau. 

Silber disponía de una oficina en la Avenida Park entre la primavera de 2003 y enero de 2004, a donde atrajo a jóvenes mujeres con la excusa de realizar un sondeo que incluía un examen ginecológico y por el que les pagaría unos cien dólares. 

El acusado, que se identificaba como doctor aunque no tiene licencia para practicar la medicina, pedía a las mujeres que se desvistieran, las hacía pasar despues a una sala para ser examinadas y les abonaba posteriormente la cantidad acordada, según la investigación. 

La Fiscalía sigue realizando averiguaciones para determinar si el sujeto cometió similares delitos con otras mujeres  
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Sex charges for phony GYN
Associated Press - August 26, 2008

New York City prosecutors accuse a businessman of pretending to be a doctor and paying women to undergo gynecological exams as part of a phony insurance survey. 

Zalman Silber was indicted on charges of sexual abuse and unauthorized use of a professional title. He was arraigned yesterday in Manhattan state Supreme Court. 

The alleged crimes occurred at a Park Avenue medical office in 2003 and 2004. 

The victims - all Orthodox Jewish women in their late 20s - were told they would get paid about $100 to participate in an insurance survey or examination, said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. 

Earlier this month, Silber, a resident of Monsey, was accused of "aiding and abetting" in a similar scheme in Rockland County. His lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment. 

Silber created the New York Skyride at the Empire State Building, which simulates a bird's-eye tour of New York City. He reportedly sold it for $9 million. 
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Abuse Rap Grows For Gyno Ghoul 
By Barbara Ross and Dave Goldiner
New York Daily News - August 26, 2008 

THREE MORE women have accused a Hasidic businessman of posing as a gynecologist to molest them in a Park Ave. doctor's office, officials charged yesterday. 

Zalman Silber, 41, of upstate Monsey, was hit with a new 22-count indictment accusing him of sexual abuse, forcible touching and impersonating a doctor. 

The ex-owner of the NY Skyride simulated tour at the Empire State Building allegedly lured the three to his office with promises of a $100 fee. He said they had to undergo tests for an insurance company, but instead fondled them in 2003 and 2004. 

Silber's lawyer denied the accusations, which he claimed were cooked up by his client's "disgruntled" ex-wife. 

Silber, who faces up to four years in prison for the most serious charges, was accused in June of feeling up two women. He remains free on $10,000 bail. He also faces charges in Rockland County of molesting a woman with the help of a now-fired Ramapo cop.


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Faux Gyno Groped 4 Women: DA 
By Laura Italiao
New York Post - August 26, 2008

An upstate Hasidic businessman posed as a gynecologist to perform disgusting "exams" on four unsuspecting Orthodox Jewish women in a Park Avenue medical office, Manhattan prosecutors charged yesterday. 

Zalman Silber, 41, of Monsey, offered each of the women about $100, calling it a "stipend" for their participation in a phony insurance survey, prosecutors said of the alleged 2003 and 2004 attacks.
He'd have them fill out a medical form, then told them to disrobe and put on an examination gown, prosecutors said. Then he'd sexually grope them, calling it a "pelvic exam," they said. 

Silber pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of pretending to be a doctor and of misdemeanor sexual abuse. 

The father of five reportedly earned millions as creator of the New York Skyride, a virtual reality ride located at the Empire State Building that simulates a helicopter tour of the city. 

"He will be completely vindicated," insisted Silber's lawyer, Jacob Laufer. 


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Phony insurance survey, sex abuse alleged
Albany Times News - August 26, 2008


NEW YORK - New York City prosecutors accuse a businessman of pretending to be a doctor and paying women to undergo gynecological exams as part of a phony insurance survey. 

Zalman Silber was indicted on charges of sexual abuse and unauthorized use of a professional title. He was arraigned Monday in Manhattan state . . .

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Monsey, NY - Judge Tosses 26 Charges in Sex Case
Vos Iz Neas - December 17, 2008

Monsey, NY - Acting state Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bartlett has tossed 24 misdemeanor sexual abuse counts against a fired Ramapo police officer and a Monsey millionaire. She also tossed two official misconduct charges against the officer.

The fired officer, Andrew Dale of Suffern, and Zalman Silber are accused of administering gynecological exams on woman. Bartlett yesterday let stand eight felony charges – four counts each of unauthorized practice of a profession and aggravated sexual abuse.

Ramapo fired Dale in August following a disciplinary hearing.

Bartlett dismissed 24 counts of third-degree sexual abuse on the grounds the two-year statute of limitations had expired, attorneys for Dale and Silber said today.


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NY Minute
The Associated Press - October 8, 2009


SEX ABUSE charges have been dropped against a former police officer and a businessman who were accused of getting the businessman's wife to submit to fake medical exams. 

The Rockland County district attorney's office said (NAME REMOVED), the alleged victim, lied about claiming her husband, Zalman Silber, 42, had talked her into submitting to exams by Andrew Dale, 35. 

The charges led to Dale's dismissal from the Ramapo police force. 

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Manhattan District Attorney Dismisses All Charges Against Millionaire Businessman Zalman Silber
By Mr. Laufer
PR Newswire - December 29, 2009

MONSEY, N.Y., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Jacob Laufer who is representing Mr. Silber released the following statement to the press: 

"We are grateful that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has done the right thing in dismissing the remaining charges against Zalman Silber, and ending a year and a half nightmare for him. Mr. Silber has continuously maintained his innocence of these charges. 

"The charges were instigated by his disgruntled ex-wife, and resulted in charges filed against him in Rockland County and in Manhattan. In Rockland County, the D.A. dismissed the charges in September. The District Attorney's Office explained that it would not go forward with his ex-wife's accusations, because she was discredited as a witness. 

"The Manhattan case, which was brought, again, at Mr. Silber's ex-wife's instigation, relied upon ambiguous identifications by two of four witnesses. The identifications -- which drew heavily upon Mr. Silber's appearance as an Orthodox Jew, an appearance that he shares with many thousands of other people -- were obviously mistaken. One witness reported that the perpetrator had buck teeth, which Mr. Silber obviously did not have, and does not have. Another witness' description of the perpetrator was of someone about 20 years older than Mr. Silber. In September, the Court in Manhattan determined that the District Attorney's Office did not conduct a reasonably diligent investigation, which resulted in the dismissal of most of the Manhattan charges. The remaining charges in Manhattan have now thankfully been dismissed. 

"Mr. Silber has suffered horribly in his personal and professional relationships. He has been reviled and mocked in press accounts that wrongfully assumed his guilt. He has had a deserved reputation as a decent man, and as a benefactor to his community, which has been damaged by these unjust accusations. He looks forward to the restoration of his reputation." 

An earlier release mistakenly attributed certain additional statements to Mr. Laufer. 


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Zalman Silber, Business Entrepreneur and Philthropist  
www.ZalmanSilber.com - January 21, 2013

Zalman Silber uniquely brings together the two dynamically opposed environments of big business and “giving back.”

Zalman Silber has had tremendous success in two seemingly opposite worlds, namely, those of business/high finance and human interest/philanthropy. A deeply religious man with a knack for successful business ventures, Zalman refuses to rest on his laurels and is always seeking to expand his coverage area within both worlds. 
 
Zalman has already amassed quite an impressive record of accomplishments and credentials as an entrepreneur with his ear to the ground in terms of business opportunity. Equally impressive is his dedication to a variety of causes, all seeking to improve the lives of those less fortunate yet equally deserving of better lives. Many kind words have been spoken concerning his influence in the Jewish Education arena. 

A true irony exists, as Zalman has both founded several highly successful technology firms and a variety of attraction-based ventures, while remaining fully active in his strong philanthropic focus and intense drive to continue learning about the deep roots of his Jewish faith.
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