6 Chabad tunnel defendants plead guilty

Six men who were arrested in an attempt to dig a tunnel into the Brooklyn headquarters of the Chabad Hasidic movement accepted plea deals on Monday, while four others opted to go to trial.

The guilty pleas were the latest stage in the Chabad tunnel saga, which burst into view one year ago when a fracas broke out at a synagogue in the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway. A group of men broke down a wall at the synagogue as part of an attempt to tunnel into the building, part of a bid to expand the headquarters. Investigators found that the tunnel stretched 60 feet.

The incident gained international attention and led to more than a dozen arrests and citations, while 770 was closed for days out of structural integrity concerns. Chabad leadership denounced the tunnelers as a fringe group.

On Monday, six defendants accepted reduced charges of criminal mischief and agreed to pay $200 as well as refrain from any construction work or alterations at 770 for three years, according to the New York Post. If they violate the terms of the plea deal they face a five-year ban from 770, which served as the office of Chabad’s late leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Other defendants in the case have previously pled guilty.

But four defendants on Monday opted to go to trial. They face felony criminal mischief charges and a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

The judge also scolded the defendants in the courtroom.

“This is a blemish on the Chabad movement as far as I’m concerned,” Judge Adam Perlmutter said. Presumably referring to the thousands of Chabad centers across the globe, he added, “They built buildings all over the world. It involves raising money, hiring architects, getting building permits and any rezoning as necessary. It is the only way that it gets done in this town.”