Defence lawyers said he was a "champion of women's rights" and disputed the charges. Under Orthodox Jewish belief, a husband must grant permission for a divorce. This comes in the form of a document known as a get. Rabbi Epstein, 69, is on trial alongside his son David Epstein and two other co-defendants, Jay Goldstein and Binyamin Stimle. They face similar charges stemming from a staged kidnapping in 2013 and three other "forced" divorces.Screwdriver
During their opening statement on Wednesday prosecutors played a short, grainy video clip of the rabbi discussing a staged kidnapping with two undercover FBI agents. He is heard saying: "Basically, what we're going to be doing is kidnapping a guy for a couple hours."
The authorities alleged the gang brought along surgical blades, a screwdriver and rope. Rabbi Epstein is also alleged to have told the undercover agents that he arranged similar kidnappings every year or year and a half, which cost at least $50,000 (£32,350) each. Defence lawyer Robert Stahl argued that his client was acting as an advocate for women and had a reputation for "convincing these husbands to go give their wives a get".
Mr Stahl did not dispute that "some laws may have been broken along the way", but said kidnapping was not one of them.
BETTER CALL SAUL!!!
Nobody pays $50K and up for a simple "talking to" (except at the highest corporate levels).
The rabbi and his crew are thugs, and I would have been happy if their victim was carrying and blew the whole crew away.