T

wo associates of 
President Trump’
s 
personal lawyer Rudy 
Giuliani were indicted Oct. 
11 on campaign finance 
charges related to the 
alleged efforts of the Trump 
administration to dig up dirt 
in Ukraine on Democratic 
presidential candidate Joe 
Biden, according to CNN. 
 Lev Parnas and former 

Detroiter Igor Fruman were 
arrested Oct. 10 
at Dulles 
International Airport with 
one-way tickets to Vienna. 
The men will be held in 
detention until they each 
secure a $1 million bond, a 
judge said.
The two men are involved 
with an illegal effort to 
influence U.S. politics and 
policy using foreign funds, 

according to CNN. Giuliani, 
who has admitted to work-
ing in Ukraine to pressure 
officials to open an inves-
tigation into Biden and his 
son, Hunter, had lunch with 
Fruman and Parnas at the 
Trump International Hotel 
in Washington hours before 
they were arrested, the Wall 
Street Journal reported.
According to the indict-
ment, Fruman and Parnas 
also asked a U.S. congress-
man to help get the U.S. 
ambassador to Ukraine fired 
and committed to raising 
tens of thousands of dol-
lars for that congressman’
s 
re-election effort.
According to the Jewish 
Insider, Fruman and Parnas, 
who visited Israel last sum-
mer, were presented with 

the National Council of 
Young Israel’
s Chovevei Zion 
(Lover of Zion) award. Both 
Parnas and Fruman sit on 
the board of the Anatevka 
Jewish Refugee Community, 
a charity set up to help 
Ukrainian Jews fleeing vio-
lence in the eastern part of 
the country.
Fruman resided in Metro 
Detroit before relocating 
to South Florida. His son, 
Artur, is a 2005 graduate 
of Hillel Day School and 
a 2013 graduate of the 
University of Michigan. He 
was a bar mitzvah at Temple 
Israel in 2004, all according 
to content in the Detroit 
Jewish News Foundation’
s 
William Davison Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit 
history. 

Giuliani Associate 
and Former Detroiter 
Fruman Arrested

Two Ukrainian-born businessmen were 
indicted on campaign fi
 nance charges.

JN STAFF

 OCTOBER 17 • 2019 | 21

Jewish National Fund (JNF-
USA) will host a Lawyers 
for Israel event on 7:30 a.m. 
Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 
Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss 
(27777 Franklin Road, 
Suite 2500, Southfield). 
This complimentary event 
will feature one the world’
s 
preeminent experts on 
the IsraeliArab conflict, 
Eugene Kontorovich. Space 
is limited and an RSVP is 
required to attend.
 Kontorovich teaches at 
George Mason University’
s 
School of Law, where he 
specializes in constitutional 
law, federal courts and 
public international law. He 

is an expert in international 
law and the IsraeliArab 
conflict. 
Jewish National Fund is 
the leading philanthropic 
organization for Israel 
that supports critical 
environmental and nation 
building activities in Israel’
s 
north and south. Attendees 
will have an opportunity 
to contribute to Jewish 
National Fund’
s 2020 
campaign.
Registration is required by 
Oct. 31 to jnf.org/detroitlfi 
or by calling (248) 324-
3080. For more information, 
contact Allyson Kolpas at 
akolpas@jnf.org. 

Lawyers for Israel Welcome Eugene Kontorovich

The Associated Press reports 
that the family of the late 
Metro Detroiter Jeff Surnow, 
who died at age 62 in a 
bicycle accident in Hawaii in 
March 2015, has won a $15.1 
million settlement from the 
county of Hawaii, where the 
accident took place.
Officials say that the 
officer driving the car that 
struck and killed Surnow 
was working his second 
consecutive shift when the 
crash happened. That officer 
was convicted last year of 
misdemeanor negligent 
homicide and sentenced 

to one year of probation. 
Hawaii has since ended the 
policy requiring officers to 
work back-to-back shifts.
Surnow was the 
founder and owner of 
the Birmingham-based 
real estate development 
and management firm 
the Surnow Company. He 
spearheaded such projects 
as the restoration of the 
Birmingham Post office and 
the office complex at 550 
Merrill Street. 
He was also the founder of 
the annual Birmingham Bike 
Festival. 

Surnow Family Wins $15.1 Million Settlement
from Hawaii County for death of Jeff Surnow

