NY Court of Appeals Upholds Raphael Golb’s Conviction on 29 of 30 Counts

Dr. Raphael Golb, son of University of Chicago Oriental Institute historian Dr. Norman Golb, was found guilty on 30 felony and misdemeanor counts of identity theft, forgery, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, and the unauthorized use of a computer in the Criminal Division of the New York Supreme Court, September 30, 2010. On January 29, 2013, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department upheld the convictions on 29 of 30 counts for which Golb was convicted.

Word from the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department this evening is that a three-judge panel ruled unanimously to uphold the convictions on 29 of 30 felony and misdemeanor counts for which Raphael Golb was convicted in 2010.

In November of 2010, the Criminal Division of the New York Supreme Court found Dr. Raphael Golb, son of University of Chicago Oriental Institute historian Dr. Norman Golb, guilty of 30 felony and misdemeanor counts of identity theft, criminal impersonation, forgery, aggravated harassment, and the unauthorized use of a computer.

Prior to the trial, Golb turned down a plea bargain agreement in which he would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, paid a fine, served 80 hours of community service, and been placed on three years probation.

Instead, Golb was convicted of 2 felony counts and 28 misdemeanors, and was sentenced to six months in prison and five years of probation, in addition to incurring the cost of a jury trial defense and an appeal.

The Court of Appeals issued this decision:

People v Golb
2013 NY Slip Op 00436
Decided on January 29, 2013
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided on January 29, 2013
Mazzarelli, J.P., Renwick, Richter, Gische, Clark, JJ.
9101 2721/09

[*1]The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Raphael Golb, Defendant-Appellant.

Ronald L. Kuby, New York, for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Vincent
Rivellese of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Carol Berkman, J.), rendered November 18, 2010, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of identity theft in the second degree (2 counts), criminal impersonation in the second degree (14 counts), forgery in the third degree (10 counts), aggravated harassment in the second degree (3 counts), and unauthorized use of a computer, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of six months, unanimously modified, on the law and facts, to the extent of vacating the identity theft conviction under the first count of the indictment and dismissing that count, and otherwise affirmed. The matter is remitted to Supreme Court, New York County, for further proceedings pursuant to CPL 460.50(5).

One of the two felony counts was vacated and dismissed, but the Appellate Division unanimously denied Golb’s appeal and reaffirmed the guilty verdict on the other 29 counts, including one felony.

The chart below (updated from the who-is-charles-gadda.com website) lists each charge, conviction, and appellate decision of the convicted felon Raphael Golb.

CHARGE	DATE	CHARGE	SUMMARY	VERDICT (Sept. 30, 2010)	APPEAL DECISION (Jan. 29, 2013)
1.	7/1/2008 – 12/31/2008	PL 190.79(3). Identity theft in the second degree (E-CLASS FELONY) (1 of 2 counts)	Assumed identity of Lawrence Schiffman and committed/attempted to commit felony of Scheme to Defraud 1st Degree.	GUILTY	Vacated and Dismissed
2.	7/1/2008 – 12/31/2008	PL 190.79(3). Identity theft in the second degree (E-CLASS FELONY) (2 of 2 counts)	Assumed identity of Lawrence Schiffman and committed/attempted to commit felony of Falsifying Business Records 1st Degree	GUILTY	UPHELD
3.	8/1/2008 – 12/31/2008	PL 240.30(l)(a) Aggravated harassment in the second degree (1 of 3 counts)	Aggravated harassment of Dr. Lawrence Schiffman	GUILTY	UPHELD
4.	8/3/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (1 of 14 counts)	Created larry.schiffman@gmail.com email account	GUILTY	UPHELD
5.	8/4/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (2 of 14 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffrnan@gmail.com to Dr. Schiffman’s students	GUILTY	UPHELD
6.	8/4/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (1 of 10 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffrnan@gmail.com to Dr. Schiffman’s students	GUILTY	UPHELD
7.	8/5/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (3 of 14 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to multiple NYU email addresses	GUILTY	UPHELD
8.	8/5/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (2 of 10 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to multiple NYU email addresses	GUILTY	UPHELD
9.	8/5/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (4 of 14 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to NYU Dean Stimpson	GUILTY	UPHELD
10.	8/5/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (3 of 10 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to NYU Dean Stimpson	GUILTY	UPHELD
11.	8/5/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (5 of 14 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to NYU provost	GUILTY	UPHELD
12.	8/5/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (4 of 10 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to NYU provost	GUILTY	UPHELD
13.	8/6/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (6 of 14 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to NYUNews.com, forwarding email from Provost office.	GUILTY	UPHELD
14.	8/6/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (5 of 10 counts)	Sent email from larry.schiffman@gmail.com to NYUNews.com, forwarding email from Provost office.	GUILTY	UPHELD
15.	11/22/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (7 of 14 counts)	Created email account seidel.jonathan@gmail.com	GUILTY	UPHELD
16.	11/22/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (8 of 14 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com to Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)	GUILTY	UPHELD
17.	11/22/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (6 of 10 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com to Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)	GUILTY	UPHELD
18.	11/24/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (9 of 14 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com to Risa Kohn (ROM’s curator for Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit)	GUILTY	UPHELD
19.	11/24/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (7 of 10 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com to Risa Kohn (ROM’s curator for Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit)	GUILTY	UPHELD
20.	11/24/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (10 of 14 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com regarding Norman Golb	GUILTY	UPHELD
21.	11/24/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (8 of 10 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com regarding Norman Golb	GUILTY	UPHELD
22.	12/6/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (11 of 14 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com regarding Stephen Goranson internet post	GUILTY	UPHELD
23.	12/6/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (9 of 10 counts)	Sent email from seidel.jonathan@gmail.com regarding Stephen Goranson internet post	GUILTY	UPHELD
24.	7/1/2008 – 12/31/2008	PL240.30(l)(a) Aggravated harassment in the second degree (2 of 3 counts)	Aggravated Harassment of Stephen Goranson	GUILTY	UPHELD
25.	8/7/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (12 of 14 counts)	Created email account steve.goranson@gmail.com	GUILTY	UPHELD
26.	7/20/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (13 of 14 counts)	Created email account frank.cross2@gmail.com	GUILTY	UPHELD
27.	7/20/2008	PL 190.25(1) Criminal impersonation in the second degree (14 of 14 counts)	Sent email from frank.cross2@gmail.com regarding Bart Ehrman and the Jewish Museum	GUILTY	UPHELD
28.	7/20/2008	PL 170.05. Forgery in the third degree (10 of 10 counts)	Sent email from frank.cross2@gmail.com regarding Bart Ehrman and the Jewish Museum	GUILTY	UPHELD
29.	6/1/2007 – 3/1/2009	PL 240.30(l)(a) Aggravated harassment in the second degree (3 of 3 counts)	Aggravated harassment of Robert Cargill	GUILTY	UPHELD
30.	7/1/2008 – 3/1/2009	PL 156.05 Unauthorized use of a Computer (1 count)	Unauthorized use of NYU computers to commit criminal offenses and otherwise in violation of NYU computer use policy	GUILTY	UPHELD

The rest of the appellate court’s decision reads as follows:

Defendant’s convictions arise out of his use of emails to impersonate actual persons. Nothing in this prosecution, or in the court’s jury charge, violated defendant’s First Amendment or other constitutional rights.

Defendant is the son of an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Defendant set up email accounts in which he pretended to be other scholars who disagreed with defendant’s father’s opinion on the origin of the Scrolls. Among other things, defendant sent emails in which one of his father’s rivals purportedly admitted to acts of plagiarism.

Defendant’s principal defense was that these emails were only intended to be satiric hoaxes or pranks. However, as it has been observed in the context of trademark law, “[a] parody must convey two simultaneous – and contradictory – messages: that it is the original, but also that it is not the original and is instead a parody” (Cliffs Notes, Inc. v Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub. Group, Inc., 886 F2d 490, 494 [2d Cir 1989]). Here, the evidence clearly established that defendant never intended any kind of parody. Instead, he only intended to convey the first message to the readers of the emails, that is, that the purported authors were the actual authors. It was equally clear that defendant intended that the recipients’ reliance on this deception would cause harm to the purported authors and benefits to defendant or his father.

The court’s charge, which incorporated many of defendant’s requests, fully protected his constitutional rights, and the court was not required to grant defendant’s requests for additional instructions. The court carefully informed the jury that academic discussion, parody, satire and the use of pseudonyms were protected by the First Amendment.

The court also ensured that the jury understood the terms “fraud” and “defraud” by [*2]expanding their definition and advised the jury that “without the intent to deceive or defraud as to the source of the speech with the intent to reap a benefit from that deceit, there is no crime.” The court was under no obligation to limit the definitions of “injure” or “defraud” – terms used in the forgery and criminal impersonation statutes – to tangible harms such as financial harm (see People v Kase, 76 AD2d 532, 537-538 [1st Dept 1980], affd 53 NY2d 989 [1981]). The court also properly employed the statutory definition of “benefit” as “any gain or advantage” to defendant or to another person (Penal Law § 10.00[17]).

Defendant argues that it is constitutionally impermissible to include an intent to influence a constitutionally-protected academic debate within the concept of fraud, injury or benefit, that allowing injury to reputation to satisfy the injury element would effectively revive the long-abandoned offense of criminal libel, and that, in any event, the alleged truth of the content of the emails should have been permitted as a defense. However, the evidence established that defendant intended harm that fell within the plain meaning of the term “injure,” and that was not protected by the First Amendment, including damage to the careers and livelihoods of the scholars he impersonated. Defendant also intended to create specific benefits for his father’s career. The fact that the underlying dispute between defendant and his father’s rivals was a constitutionally-protected debate does not provide any First Amendment protection for acts that were otherwise unlawful.

Defendant was not prosecuted for the content of any of the emails, but only for giving the false impression that his victims were the actual authors of the emails. The First Amendment protects the right to criticize another person, but it does not permit anyone to give an intentionally false impression that the source of the message is that other person (see SMJ Group, Inc. v 417 Lafayette Restaurant LLC, 439 F Supp 2d 281 (SD NY 2006]).

We have considered and rejected defendant’s remaining arguments concerning the court’s charge. We similarly reject his claims that the statutes under which he was convicted were unconstitutionally vague or overbroad. None of these statutes was vague or overbroad on its face or as applied (see People v Shack, 86 NY2d 529, 538 [1995]; Broadrick v Oklahoma, 413 US 601, 611-616 [1973]). The People were required to prove that defendant had the specific fraudulent intent to deceive email recipients about his identity, and to obtain benefits or cause injuries as a result of the recipients’ reliance on that deception. The statutes criminalized the act of impersonation and its unlawful intent, not the content of speech falsely imputed to the victims.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence, with the exception of the identity theft conviction under the first count. The theory of that count was that in the commission of identity theft in the second degree (Penal Law § 190.79[3]), defendant attempted to commit the felony of scheme to defraud in the first degree [*3](Penal Law § 190.65[1][b]). However, there was no evidence that defendant intended to defraud one or more persons of property in excess of $1,000 or that he attempted to do so (see id.). The People’s assertions in this regard rest on speculation.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: JANUARY 29, 2013

CLERK

(emphases mine)

If Dr. Golb stays true to form, he will almost certainly appeal this again, perhaps in some other jurisdiction. If nothing else, this case has demonstrated that certain people have tremendous difficulty putting down the shovel after digging themselves into a hole.

Still, I am pleased with the court’s decision. While the wheels of justice turn slowly, and afford the guilty every possible avenue of defense, the process has demonstrated that it works in the end.

trying to dig oneself out of a hole: raphael golb posts his appeal online

Raphael Golb is handcuffed and led from a Manhattan State Supreme courtroom in New York to prison after being sentenced to 6 months in jail and 5 years probation. Golb, son of University of Chicago Oriental Institute historian Dr. Norman Golb, was convicted on 30 felony and misdemeanor counts of identity theft, forgery, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, and the unauthorized use of a computer. Photo: Steven Hirsch

There’s an old saying: “When you dig yourself into a hole, put down the shovel.”

Apparently, no one ever taught this to Raphael Golb, whose latest attempt to garner sympathy from the paranoid, the friendless, and those involved in similar ordeals is now available online.

And good news: this latest volley from Dr. Golb seems to be having the desired effect. For instance, the “Overturn the Wrongful Conviction of Raphael Golb” group on Facebook has seen its membership rise significantly from 15 to 16 over the past month. Given that at least one of those “members” is a marketing bot, I’d say that it won’t be long until the Raphael Golb Facebook group has as many fans as “The Great Kim Jong-Il” group (4377) or the “Sarah Palin for President 2012” group (92). Even ol’ Jimmy Barfield’s “Copper Scroll Project” has more supporters with 394.

Yes, Dr. Golb is back, and this time per the requirements of his sentencing and bail writing in his own name! Remarkably, Dr. Golb has essentially posted his conviction appeal online. I’m guessing the State of New York thanks him for the additional time to prepare its response. I mean seriously, didn’t Dr. Golb learn anything from the trial? He hung his lawyers out to dry by posting every possible angle of every possible line of their questioning online several months before the trial actually began! Every witness knew exactly what Golb’s attorneys were going to ask because the verbally-incontinent Golb had already posted it online months before. So thanks again for the advance notice.

(Unless, of course, Golb is using the same tactic he used during the trial, where he knew he would be found guilty 30 times, but decided to use the trial to attack his victims further, and decided to attempt to try his case in the blogosphere. The only problem is, I don’t think Dr. Golb’s most recent posting on the indymedia.org website qualifies as “protected speech.” I’m assuming he didn’t make any false claims in his indymedia post…)

For those of you who don’t want to waste the time reading Dr. Golb’s rant appeal, let me summarize it for you. I’ve listed who Raphael Golb thinks is responsible for his arrest and conviction in the table below:

People whose fault it is: (in order of appearance)

People whose fault it is not:

Dead Sea scrolls “guild” or “monopoly” “traditionalists” “creators of museum exhibits” a fake “consensus” “defenders of the sectarian position” “abuse of power and of financial influence” by scholars and academic institutions “evangelical Christian educational institutions” “orthodox Jews” who shared their basic perspective Robert Cargill museums “religiously oriented scholars” Larry Schiffman NYU officials Assistant District Attorney John Bandler Patrick McKenna, an investigating officer assigned to the New York Country D.A.’s identity theft unit New York Criminal Court Judge Carol Berkman “acute stress reaction” agreeing “to be interrogated without an attorney” “sly” interrogation techniques District Attorney Robert Morgenthau New York court system and “rules” jury selection process failure of judge “to explain to the jurors that my case was the first of its kind” prevention of Golb’s attorneys “from engaging in significant cross-examination of witnesses” “Judge Berkman instructed the jury to find me guilty” New York Jewish Museum Salem witch trial Senator Joseph McCarthy Stephen Goranson Duke University provost UCLA faculty members Risa Levitt Kohn San Diego Natural History Museum “coincidences” like despite claiming not to have known of “Johnathan Seidel,” a rabbi in Oregon named Jonathan Seidel coincidentally graduated from Golb’s alma mater, Oberlin College, and coincidentally was introduced to Norman Golb in England in 1986, and coincidentally discussed things over a coffee with him. jurors’ sheer fatigue ill equipped jurors academic “gatekeepers” getting “carried away in the midst of a heated campaign of criticism which I [Golb] directed against a group of scholars duplicitous museum exhibits NYU

Raphael Golb

As you can see, just like his father and his theories, Golb argues that the reason neither is accepted by the academy is not because of problems with the theory or its proponent, but because of a massive conspiracy involving just about everyone else in the field. Raphael Golb’s appeal argues that his conviction was not the result of his own illegal activities, but the result of a grand conspiracy, and everyone else is to blame.

Conspiracy theories. Blaming others. Not taking responsibility for actions. Victim mentality. It seems like it never ends…

golb gets 6 months in jail, 5 years probation

Raphael Golb is handcuffed and led from a Manhattan State Supreme courtroom in New York to prison after being sentenced to 6 months in jail and 5 years probation. Golb, son of University of Chicago Oriental Institute historian Dr. Norman Golb, was convicted on 30 felony and misdemeanor counts of identity theft, forgery, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, and the unauthorized use of a computer. Photo: Steven Hirsch

Raphael Golb, son of University of Chicago Oriental Institute historian Dr. Norman Golb, has been sentenced to 6 months in jail and 5 years probation after being found guilty on September 30, 2010 of 2 felony and 28 misdemeanor counts of identity theft, criminal impersonation, forgery, aggravated harassment, and the unauthorized use of a computer.

Raphael Golb. Photo: Steven Hirsch

The charges stem from a bizarre case where Dr. Golb used an army of internet aliases to falsely charge his father’s perceived rival, NYU Judaic Studies professor Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, with plagiarism, and then criminally impersonated Dr. Schiffman by opening an email account in Schiffman’s name, emailing Schiffman’s students and colleagues, and “admitting” to the “plagiarism” on Schiffman’s behalf.

Before the trial, Golb turned down a plea deal where he would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, paid a fine, and received two years probation. With guilty verdicts including two felony counts, Dr. Golb not only faces jail time and 5 years probation, but also faces the additional consequence of being disbarred from the New York Bar Association.

•David K. Li / NY Post (Nov. 18)
•David K. Li / NY Post (Nov. 19)
•Jennifer Peltz / AP (Nov. 18)
•Melissa Grace / NY Daily News (Nov. 18)
•Paige Chapman / Chronicle of Higher Education (Nov. 18)
•John Eligon / NY Times (Nov. 18)

 

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For the record, I’ll make the following statement:

 

“I am satisfied with the verdict and the sentence in the case of the People of New York vs. Raphael Golb. The sentence fits the crime. During the trial, Dr. Golb showed no remorse, never apologized for his actions, believed what he did wasn’t wrong, and stated flatly that he’d do it again. The disingenuous apology he did finally offer epitomized his defiance:

“I’m sorry for all the wounding of feelings that my e-mail antics have caused…Before this case, I did not know that satirical hoaxes of the sort were treated as crimes in the United States of America.”

He abused the protected speech afforded him by the criminal trial process to attack his victims further, escalating his absurd and false accusations against his victims with the knowledge he could not be sued in civil court. He knew he was guilty, but decided to take as many people as he could down with him. He misused the criminal proceedings against him in attempt to put a leading scholar in the field and a good man, Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, on trial for something he did not do. Because Dr. Golb wasted the people of New York’s time and money in a trial he used as little more than a soapbox for his father’s dismissed scholarly views and a weapon to attack his victims further, I believe the sentence is appropriate.

I am thankful to Assistant District Attorney Bandler and his staff for their hard work in this case. I am thankful to Judge Berkman, who presided over a fair and impartial courtroom. I am pleased that the criminal justice system worked, and that justice was ultimately done. Most of all, I am thankful to my UCLA colleagues and especially NELC Department Chairs, Dr. William Schniedewind and Dr. Elizabeth Carter, and Humanities Division Dean, Dr. Tim Stowell, for their support throughout this entire ordeal. I am also grateful for my wife, Roslyn, and daughter, Talitha, for the love and support they’ve shown me throughout this case.

Please do not mistake my reaction to the verdict and sentence in this case as a happy one. I am not happy about this entire ordeal. No one wins in a situation like this. This is nothing but a tragedy, where academic pride and malice were unleashed in a well-coordinated effort on the internet with the deliberate intent of harming the reputations of other scholars.

If there is one lesson to be learned from this case, it is that there is no such thing as anonymity on the internet. Scholars must be willing to stand behind any statements they make in their own name or else not make them at all. While anonymity has been used in the past to make unpopular and dissenting speech, and while this right of free speech should be protected under the law, what Dr. Golb did – using anonymity as a weapon to attack good scholars via criminal impersonation, forgery, identity theft, and for aggravated harassment against others – is shameful. It is a violation of the law and dishonors the memories of those who have fought and died for the freedom we call “free speech.”

It is a sad reality that Raphael Golb set out in an attempt to rewrite the legacy of his father, University of Chicago historian Dr. Norman Golb. But, because he employed deceitful, unprofessional, and illegal methods to do so, he has ultimately tarnished his father’s legacy perhaps beyond repair. And, because evidence from the trial proceedings demonstrated that Dr. Norman Golb not only knew about, but appears to have participated in some of his son’s scorched earth campaign of defamation against other scholars, perhaps this disgraced legacy is not wholly unwarranted. This is perhaps the worst sentence of all.

I am satisfied with the outcome. I have moved on. However, because Dr. Golb has vowed to appeal, and thereby prolong this case, I unfortunately believe this is not the end, but rather only the latest, never-ending chapter in the continued legacy of the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

Robert R. Cargill, Ph.D.

 

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Raphael Golb "apologizing" from a prepared statement, which included the recitation of several definitions of "sarcasm," "satire," and "irony," for the judge. Photo: Hermann for News.

to trial we go: golb formally refuses plea bargain

Raphael Golb rejects no-jail plea offer in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday. Photo by Siegel for News.

laura italiano of the ny post is reporting that plea bargain negotiations between the ny district attorney’s office and a lawyer for raphael golb have broken off without agreement. melissa grace has the story at the new york daily news:

That means the case against Raphael Golb, a real-estate lawyer turned amateur religious scholar, is headed to trial in September.

the case is scheduled for trial beginning september 13, 2010.

Raphael Golb, son of University of Chicago Oriental Institute historian Dr. Norman Golb, is accused of identity theft, forgery, criminal impersonation, unauthorized use of a computer, and aggravated harassment by the state of New York. Plea bargain negotiations broke down today. The trial is scheduled for September 13, 2010. Photo by Steven Hirsch.

according to sources:

They offered the son 80 hours of community service if he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors – and the judge said three years probation would have to be a condition.

Golb turned it down because probation would bar him from contacting his victims – including posting on blogs where the scrolls’ origins are debated.

golb is the son of university of chicago oriental institute historian dr. norman golb. golb is accused of multiple felony and misdemeanor counts of identity theft, forgery, criminal impersonation, unauthorized use of a computer, and aggravated harassment by the state of new york as a result of golb’s involvement with an extensive campaign to smear the perceived rivals of his father. a detailed history and evolution of golb’s campaign against dead sea scrolls scholars, grad students, museums, and universities is chronicled at the who is charles gadda website.

here we go…

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for background:

• who is charles gadda?
• to trial we go: golb formally refuses plea bargain (8/6/2010)
• denied! golb case heads to trial (2/25/2010)
• chicago maroon: e-mails in dead sea scrolls case may implicate prof norman golb (2/16/2010)
• court docs detail raphael golb’s harassment of robert cargill (1/29/2010)
• bombshell: ny da’s response to raphael golb’s motion to dismiss charges and suppress evidence (1/28/2010)
• details of raphael golb’s impersonation of lawrence schiffman (dec 18, 2009)
• court documents say norman golb may have been involved in the raphael golb dead sea scrolls scandal (dec 18, 2009)
• highlights from raphael golb’s initial police interview (dec 18, 2009)
• if you’re not guilty, why offer to plead guilty? (dec 17, 2009)
• text of raphael golb’s police interview immediately following his arrest (dec 17, 2009)
• on false accusations of anti-semitism in the academy (dec 15, 2009)
• oh… so you were just kidding this whole time (dec 10, 2009)
• new aliases popping up surrounding the criminal investigation of raphael golb (nov 10, 2009)
• update: golb’s motion to dismiss the charges against him available online (nov 9, 2009)
• on recent news about the ‘cloak and browser’ case against raphael golb (nov 8, 2009)
• 8 months later: bar finally ‘reports’ on the golb scandal (oct 30, 2009)
• update in the new york vs. raphael golb identity theft case (sept 24, 2009)
• top 10 strangest cases of identity theft (sept 6, 2009)
• model wins right to sue anonymous blogger who maligned her (aug 19, 2009)
• new online legal tool helps you track criminal cases (july 28, 2009)

i shall not be watching jay leno

it’s pretty simple. he agreed to leave the tonight show. then, he backtracked and did a primetime show, which hurt both conan o’brien and a number of nbc writers. then, he failed in primetime. so, he wanted his old job back. so, he exerted tremendous pressure behind the scenes at nbc and used his position to pressure a kind and talented comic, conan o’brien, into leaving his job.

conan played by the rules, was gracious, waited his turned, and still got screwed in the end by a powerful insider who wanted what he wanted.

so, i won’t be watching jay leno. i’ll watch letterman and craig ferguson and jimmy kimmel. but i won’t support those who abuse their position to have their way at the expense of others.

lesson to be learned: don’t be a dick. in this modern age of media, everyone hears everything, and it’s usually recorded somehow. act professionally. act like those you’re talking about are standing next to you. don’t say it if you don’t want it repeated everywhere. act like a professional. and oh yeah, and don’t be a dick.