ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSISTANT EDITOR

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Rabbi
Wolmark

14

hat happened this week on
Ten Mile Road in
Southfield could have been
a scene right out of "Top
Cops."
The first man stood
behind a large desk, a wad
of checks in his hand. "If
you don't get out of here
right now, I'm calling the
police!" he yelled.
The second man, waving
his fist in the air, was not
intimidated. "Go ahead,"
he taunted. "You call the
police."
Here's the surprise.
Everyone in this scene was
wearing a kippah.
On Tuesday the Merkaz,
the laymen's association of
the Va'ad Harabonim
(Council of Orthodox
Rabbis) caught an appar-
ent swindler, a man claim-
ing to solicit tzedakah to
help support his wife, but
actually using the money
for less than charitable
purposes.
"His wife said she has
received about $1,000 from

him, though he claims to
have sent her $5,000," said
Rabbi Mordecai Wolmark,
head of the Merkaz.
The nab was the result
of a little luck (Rabbi
Wolmark chanced to see
the car of the man in ques-
tion), a lot of research by
the Merkaz, and an inter-
national network that ver-
ifies mishulochim, tzeda-
kah solicitors.
The network functions
something like a home-
spun FBI. Rabbis regular-
ly fax each other rap
sheets on questionable
mishulochim, who travel
city to city in search of
donations. Many rap
sheets include photos. One
shows a lanky, balding
man; another depicts a
hefty black-bearded man
in a hat. Most are wanted
for fraud.
"I just got a call from
Miami," Rabbi Wolmark
said. "They caught some-
body we had warned them
about. These guys are real-

ly getting locked out of
cities."
Incidents of fraudulent
mishulochim are rare.
Rabbi Wolmark's entire
file consists of a handful of
papers, their edges slightly
worn and bent.
But he and other rabbis
take the work very seri-
ously. They view their role
as protecting the Jewish
community. Because Jews
are obligated to give
money to those soliciting
tzedakah, it makes them
easy prey for the
unscrupulous.
Tuesday's story actually
begins several months ago
when the mishuloch first
arrived in the United
States from Israel. Among
his stops was Detroit,
where he approached the
Merkaz and requested a
letter of verification.
Last year, the Merkaz
began issuing such letters
after several fraudulent
mishulochim were report-
ed in the Detroit area.
Before giving anyone a let-
ter, the Merkaz contacts
rabbis and acquaintances
of the 'solicitor who can
vouch for him. They also
take his photo and pass-
port or driver's license
number.
The mishuloch told
Rabbi Wolmark he was
collecting funds to help
support his family and to
buy a home. After speak-
ing with the man's wife,
who he believes genuinely
needs help, Rabbi
Wolmark agreed to issue
the verification letter.
But he was not without
reservations about the
mishuloch himself. So the
certificate included the
disclaimer, highlighted in
bright yellow, that checks
must be written to the
Merkaz, and would be for-

warded to the wife in
Israel.
Meanwhile, Rabbi Wol-
mark spoke with Rabbi
Z.B. Hollander of the
Chicago office of Agudath
Israel of America, which
has a similar program for
monitoring tzedakah solic-
itors. The mishuloch had
just been in Chicago,
where rabbis also were
concerned about his char-
acter.
"Keep a lookout for
him," Rabbi Hollander
advised.
More and more ques-
tionable reports about the
mishuloch began to sur-
face. Then Rabbi Wolmarl-
discovered he was solicit-
ing tzedakah in Detroit,
but making sure his letter
of verification did not
reveal the disclaimer. He
would show only the top of
the letter, thereby secur-
ing checks written to him,
not the Merkaz.
At first, Merkaz officials
believed he had left town.
Then Rabbi Wolmark
heard the mishuloch was
back. When he saw the
man's car at Sara's Kosher
Deli in Southfield, he
made his move.
"Well, hello!" he said,
approaching the mishu-
loch. After exchanging
pleasantries, he told the
man, "I just wanted to let
you know that you need a
new letter (of verification)
because the old one has
expired. When you're done
here, why don't you drop
by the office and we'll take
care of things."
The mishuloch readily
agreed — and, by the way,
he said, "Can you cash
these checks for me?" He
handed Rabbi Wolmark a
handful of checks, dona-
tions from Chicago and

CATCH A THIEF page 16

