William Rapfogel, the former head of the Metropolitan Jewish Council on Poverty, is going to prison for stealing $9 million from the charity he ran for 20 years, reported The Daily News.
Prosecutor Gary Fishman told the judge that Rapfogel — in his greed — took "from the people who needed it most" during the 20-year swindle.
Rapfogel, 59, who is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's longtime friend and confident, said Wednesday he was "terribly sorry" for ripping off his prestigious charity. He was promised a 3 1/3-to-10 year prison term in exchange for paying $3 million of the $9 million he stole, which he did.
"I deeply regret harming the organization that I worked so hard to build and that I hurt and disappointed many people, especially the clients, the staff and the board of Met Council," Rapfogel said before he was led into a Manhattan Supreme Court holding cell to begin his sentence.
