Anytime City Confidential can find a story of a minister, priest or rabbi gone bad, they jump on it like flies on sugar. Here, it's a rabbi they roast (but whose to argue, in this particular case?), a guy who had his wife murdered. Yeah, it's a pretty sad comment for a man in his position, made more disgusting by his lack of remorse and arrogant attitude at his trial. He may have the rabbinic title but he's no real man of God, obviously and the many practicing Jews in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, would agree. As the victim's brother said at the sentencing, "this man has disgraced Judiasm, among a lot of other things."
Before the crime story, we get a look at this area not far from Philadelphia.which used to be nothing but farm land but quickly became commercialized, I think CC narrator Paul Winfield pointed out, in the 1950s. Suddenly, folks who wanted out of Philly or Camden began flocking on the newly-built Route 70 and settled in Cherry Hill. The city then sported the East's first indoor shopping mall, a huge attraction (which is still very well attended). Soon, this area was almost wall-to-wall stores, fast-food places, gas stations and so forth. With it, came tons of traffic. However, it still had a lot of nice areas and was a good place to bring up kids, especially with the great schools they insisted upon having.
Rabbi Fred Neulander and his wife and family moved here in the early '70s. He wasn't satisfied with being an associate pastor so he started his own synagogue: M'Kor Shalom. Like Cherry Hill, it flourished quickly. In no time, a new, impressive building was erected, the congregation was soaring in numbers and even Fred's wife was very successful in her kosher bakery business. She'd bring home literally thousands of dollars in cash to their new suburban home.
The rest of the story, you have to see to believe. It's outrageous and involves a man who has spent his life as Walter Mitty, a total nutcase who thinks he's a famous person; the killer known as "The Bathroom Guy." We also learn the rabbi who has a mistress, who is head of a prestigious school, and we witnessed but happened in court - a couple of times! This is really an incredible story.
Before the crime story, we get a look at this area not far from Philadelphia.which used to be nothing but farm land but quickly became commercialized, I think CC narrator Paul Winfield pointed out, in the 1950s. Suddenly, folks who wanted out of Philly or Camden began flocking on the newly-built Route 70 and settled in Cherry Hill. The city then sported the East's first indoor shopping mall, a huge attraction (which is still very well attended). Soon, this area was almost wall-to-wall stores, fast-food places, gas stations and so forth. With it, came tons of traffic. However, it still had a lot of nice areas and was a good place to bring up kids, especially with the great schools they insisted upon having.
Rabbi Fred Neulander and his wife and family moved here in the early '70s. He wasn't satisfied with being an associate pastor so he started his own synagogue: M'Kor Shalom. Like Cherry Hill, it flourished quickly. In no time, a new, impressive building was erected, the congregation was soaring in numbers and even Fred's wife was very successful in her kosher bakery business. She'd bring home literally thousands of dollars in cash to their new suburban home.
The rest of the story, you have to see to believe. It's outrageous and involves a man who has spent his life as Walter Mitty, a total nutcase who thinks he's a famous person; the killer known as "The Bathroom Guy." We also learn the rabbi who has a mistress, who is head of a prestigious school, and we witnessed but happened in court - a couple of times! This is really an incredible story.