FBI investigating ‘aggressive’ PR professional

Followers of Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, a prominent New York rabbi, claim Pinto’s former aide Ofer Biton took money that was earmarked for charity, and worked with Torossian to leak negative stories to the press, while pushing to have the PR professional put on retainer to handle the bad press.

Torossian, who the Times called “an aggressive publicist prone to sending off vitriolic emails to his adversaries,” told the paper that he would have “no comment on these absurd allegations.”

No charges have been filed against Torossian or Biton.

From the Times:

“As evidence that Mr. Torossian was trying to damage the rabbi’s reputation, the rabbi’s followers pointed to news coverage over the last two years and a gossip item in September in The Daily News. The item said the rabbi had dodged a camera crew from ‘Nightline’ that wanted to question him about his financial affairs. (‘Nightline,’ an ABC News program, has not broadcast anything about the rabbi.)”