Lamm's guilty verdict transcript released

Posted 8/23/17

The Town of Mamakating, through a public relations firm, has released a transcript of Shalom Lamm's guilty plea in June.  "For several years prior to 2014, I had been working together …

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Lamm's guilty verdict transcript released

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The Town of Mamakating, through a public relations firm, has released a transcript of Shalom Lamm's guilty plea in June. 

"For several years prior to 2014, I had been working together with others on a real estate development project in Bloomingburg, New York. Bloomingburg is a small village with a population of several hundred, located in Sullivan County, New York.

"At some point prior to 2014, it became clear that the principal buyers for the homes would be Hasidic families. When some of the local residents learned of this potential Hasidic influx, we encountered fierce, even violent resistance based on anti-Hasidic animus.

"A local election in Bloomingburg was scheduled for March 2014. This election was of vital importance to the project, because those who opposed it were seeking to unseat local government officials in favor of others who would try to stop the development despite the prior approvals for the

"In order to avoid what I believed would be an unjust and financially debilitating outcome, I took steps, together with others, to try to ensure a favorable election  result. To lead this effort, we hired an experience election lawyer and a firm with an extensive election management practice. We set out to engage in this proces lawfully with the best professional advice that we could find. Our election plan was both to encourage local  Bloomingburg residents to vote for candidates supporting the project and to bring in new residents who would establish residency in sufficient time to register to vote. Since the development was not yet ready for occupancy, the plan was that these new residents would move into rental properties that we had purchased. I participated in the process, together with the professionals and others, whereby our group recruited these new residents and helped them to register. As things progressed, we realized that we may not -- we may not have enough new residents moving to Bloomingburg and registering to vote in time. This created great pressure.Regretfully, sometime before the election, it became clear to me that I was participating in a process whereby our team was submitting registrations that falsely described the applicants' resident status in Bloomingburg."

His sentencing is scheduled for September 28. The press release from Mamakating also says:

"What is especially interesting is the government's belief  that Shalom Lamm was the leader of this conspiracy and should be judged by that in his sentencing. There is also a reference to going across state lines in his conspiratorial actions in meeting with a public relations firm in New Jersey which the indictment alleged were part of the fraud.

"The Town of Mamakating will soon be submitting a "Victims Impact Statement" attesting to the terrible impact Lamm's actions have had on the town and many of its residents, who have suffered through years of treachery by Shalom Lamm and his associates. And, the town is still suffering as Lamm has purchased scores of properties in the Town so that he still can command tremendous influence and , continues to build the disputed Chestnut Ridge project.

"Mamakating Town Supervisor, William Herrmann, said, 'Shalom Lamm and Kenneth Nakdimen’s guilty pleas to federal voter fraud charges for committing this terrible injustice against our town represents the beginning of the unraveling of a major corruption scandal. This is the first step in vindication for the entire community that has fought so hard to expose the efforts of Lamm and his co-conspirators.  The fraud they committed on our community must be fully revealed. I applaud all those in this community who have fought so hard to expose this wrongdoing. We anticipate that more charges will follow, and more of those responsible for hurting this community will be punished.'” 

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