Jews with mitzvahs, edition 100

Who was the accountant who ripped off al pacino?

The accountant was Kenneth Starr — no relation to the independent counsel who investigated Bill Clinton.1 2

Starr was a Bronx-born celebrity accountant and money manager whose client list was a Hollywood Who's Who: Al Pacino, Uma Thurman, Martin Scorsese, Natalie Portman, Carly Simon, Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Lauren Bacall, Neil Simon, and Barbara Walters, among others.1 2 He ran a Ponzi-style scheme, using money from some clients' accounts to cover shortfalls in others', and reportedly pocketed as much as $59 million.2 3

Pacino says he started getting warnings around 2011 that his accountant "was not to be trusted," but his lavish spending masked the problem — a Beverly Hills mansion, a Gulfstream 550, and an entire floor of the Dorchester hotel in London.4 5 He wasn't even signing his own checks; Starr was.4 6 When Pacino finally looked, his $50 million was gone.7 8

Starr pleaded guilty in September 2010 and was sentenced in March 2011 to 7.5 years in prison.1 3 The judge, Shira Scheindlin, went lenient partly on the reasoning that his victims were rich and didn't go broke — a claim Pacino might dispute.1

The fallout reshaped Pacino's career: he took roles he didn't care about, starting with Jack and Jill, because he needed the money.7 5

Yes, Kenneth Starr was Jewish.1 2

Starr was the youngest of three sons born to a public-school principal in the South Bronx. He entered Queens College at the age of fifteen. He is Jewish.

Note from a Machon Shlomo student

Consider how insane that place was, we were supposed to get an introduction to Judaism and all we got was an overwhelming shiur on the daf without having received any background on the Talmud. That and the son in law, a 30 year old BT from Trinity College, reading the Chumash to us. All within a cold and competitive environment run by a tyrannical moron. 

We weren't taught Judaism, about mitzvahs, marriage, tefillah, halacha, Hebrew, history, philosophy. 

All done in an isolated setting without a library or community.

It was outrageous what they did to us. 

Larry Bird remembers

 “Larry Bird remembers when players that later went bankrupt made fun of him for saving his money:”

Even when I was at the top of my game, we didn't drive a Mercedes-Benz or live in million-dollar homes, things like that. When I first started playing, we bought a nice little house in the French Lick/West Baden area. It cost $125,000. We didn't run out and spend all our money because we knew there would be a time when it was over, and I wanted to have options on what we could do with our future. I never thought about retiring. I just assumed I would always work." "Some of the guys who made far less than me bought the $700,000 homes, and the ROLEXwatches, and the big luxury cars. I used to tell them, "You're crazy, you should be saving your money." They'd just laugh and make jokes about me stashing my money away. But I could see what they were doing. They were throwing away their future. So many of them were living for today and not even stopping for a minute to think about ten years down the road when their playing careers were over and the money stopped pouring in. And by the time they realized what I was telling them was true, it was too late.I can't tell you how many ex-teammates have asked me for money. It's heartbreaking for me to say no, but I do because I warned them. I told them to save."

Travel as much as you can while you're young.

 At 67, here's one piece of advice I'd give anyone under 30:

Travel as much as you can while you're young. You don't need to be rich. Fly economy. Stay in hostels. Take overnight trains. Backpack across borders. Sleep on a friend's couch. Eat street food. Get lost in places where nobody speaks your language. Leave your comfort zone and experience the world beyond the one you've always known. Dance with locals. Try unfamiliar foods. Listen to cathedral bells echo through ancient streets and hear the call to prayer drift across a crowded city. Walk through little alleyways, share meals with strangers, and make friends with people whose lives look nothing like yours. Learn how other cultures think, love, work, celebrate, and survive. Discover that people can speak different languages, follow different traditions, and believe different things while still sharing the same hopes, fears, and dreams. The world is much bigger than your hometown, your social circle, or what you see on a screen. Travel won't just give you beautiful photographs and unforgettable stories. It'll challenge your assumptions, humble you, broaden your perspective, and teach you to appreciate things you once took for granted. Don't spend your entire youth waiting until you have more money, a better job, or the perfect time. You can always earn more money, but you can't buy back the years you spent being afraid to explore. Go see the world. Meet its people. Embrace its differences. And when you return home, bring back more than souvenirs. Bring back a wider perspective, a more open heart, and a deeper understanding of humanity. The best thing travel can give you isn't a passport full of stamps. It's a mind that has expanded and a heart that has learned to see the world differently.

in defense of

 

400 feet

 

Ohio among least expensive housing cost in country. NJ and NY among highest

 NY 527,. NJ 580

Ohio 249