HAMPTONBURGH, NY - A retired Judge and former prosecutor in Orange County, New York, Stewart Rosenwasser, who was embroiled in a major embezzlement case and accused of accepting bribes, opened fire on investigating FBI agents Tuesday before turning his weapon on himself.
As reported by The Times-Union, Rosenwasser was under federal investigation in connection with allegations of bribery that he accepted from Mout’z “Marty” Soudani, who was reportedly the victim of a $1.9 million theft and embezzlement case he prosecuted in 2022-23. In a connected lawsuit, Rosenwasser was also being sued by Soudani's son, the original defendant, and his sister who made the bribery allegations.
The outlet reported that court documents alleged the bribery scheme “may present the most blatant example of prosecutorial corruption and fraud in the annals of New York case law." The then-prosecutor allegedly accepted $63,000 in bribes, with investigators arguing he subsequently attempted to cover it up.
On Tuesday morning, FBI agents, acting on a now-unsealed indictment arrived at Rosenwasser’s home with a warrant for the Judge's arrest. In previous months, his home had already been uneventfully searched. However, at 9:35 a.m. Tuesday, the agents radioed for backup reporting a barricaded suspect and shots fired. The agency requested that a Special Operations Group SWAT team respond from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
In the text of the indictment prosecutors claimed that after Soudani's wife and son were arrested, Rosenwasser allegedly texted him, "I won't text anymore. Anything you want to tell me, call me. That's it. I will call you tomorrow. We must stop creating text messages. Period."
During the confrontation with the FBI, Rosenwasser reportedly turned his gun on himself and took his own life.
The FBI gave a statement to the outlet saying that it is "reviewing an agent-involved shooting that occurred earlier this morning in Campbell Hall, NY. The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide.”
Rosenwasser’s son, Jason told The New York Post, “The only thing I feel compelled to point out is that the local news headlines are reporting that my father fatally shot himself while also reporting in the same article that the FBI field office issued a statement calling it an agent-involved shooting,” and asked reporters for privacy.
Orange County DA David Hoovler told the Post, "It's truly heartbreaking that it ended this way. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family."
As reported by The Times-Union, Rosenwasser was under federal investigation in connection with allegations of bribery that he accepted from Mout’z “Marty” Soudani, who was reportedly the victim of a $1.9 million theft and embezzlement case he prosecuted in 2022-23. In a connected lawsuit, Rosenwasser was also being sued by Soudani's son, the original defendant, and his sister who made the bribery allegations.
The outlet reported that court documents alleged the bribery scheme “may present the most blatant example of prosecutorial corruption and fraud in the annals of New York case law." The then-prosecutor allegedly accepted $63,000 in bribes, with investigators arguing he subsequently attempted to cover it up.
On Tuesday morning, FBI agents, acting on a now-unsealed indictment arrived at Rosenwasser’s home with a warrant for the Judge's arrest. In previous months, his home had already been uneventfully searched. However, at 9:35 a.m. Tuesday, the agents radioed for backup reporting a barricaded suspect and shots fired. The agency requested that a Special Operations Group SWAT team respond from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
In the text of the indictment prosecutors claimed that after Soudani's wife and son were arrested, Rosenwasser allegedly texted him, "I won't text anymore. Anything you want to tell me, call me. That's it. I will call you tomorrow. We must stop creating text messages. Period."
Former NY Judge Stewart Rosenwasser Takes His Own Life as FBI Arrives to Arrest Him for Corruption
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) September 24, 2024
Stewart Rosenwasser, a retired judge and former prosecutor in Orange County, NY, committed suicide as FBI agents arrived at his Campbell Hall home to arrest him in connection with… pic.twitter.com/nK2DTuhVwy
During the confrontation with the FBI, Rosenwasser reportedly turned his gun on himself and took his own life.
The FBI gave a statement to the outlet saying that it is "reviewing an agent-involved shooting that occurred earlier this morning in Campbell Hall, NY. The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide.”
Rosenwasser’s son, Jason told The New York Post, “The only thing I feel compelled to point out is that the local news headlines are reporting that my father fatally shot himself while also reporting in the same article that the FBI field office issued a statement calling it an agent-involved shooting,” and asked reporters for privacy.
Orange County DA David Hoovler told the Post, "It's truly heartbreaking that it ended this way. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family."
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