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A retired Orange County court judge and former Orange County executive assistant district attorney are now at the center of bribery allegations involving a family tied to a Rockland County cold case murder. The allegations are outlined in court documents obtained by News 12 that claim ex-prosecutor Stewart Rosenwasser zeroed in on Eman and Martin Soudani after Moutz “Marty” Soudani accused his sister and nephew of stealing $1.6 million from him in a crypto-currency scheme and paid Rosenwasser to investigate it. Martin Soudani ended up being the only one charged in 2023. He pleaded guilty and paid his uncle back almost $500,000 before he was sentenced to one to seven years in prison in Orange County Court. In August, the mother and son each filed a notice of claim, the first step in a lawsuit, against Rosenwasser, Orange County, Orange County District Attorney Dave Hoovler and Senior Assistant District Attorney Christopher Borek after they claimed to have uncovered personal texts between Rosenwasser and Moutz Soudani during the investigation and a paper trail of six payments, totaling $48,100, marked as “loans” to Rosenwasser. In one alleged text exchange, Moutz Soudani allegedly wrote Rosenwasser that he’d make him, “extremely more than happy.” Rosenwasser allegedly text Soudani saying he’d “always protect” and “help” him. Another alleged exchange involved texts by Soudani to Rosenwasser that he destroyed “everything that was bad on the phone.” Court documents allege that Rosenwasser previously represented Moutz Soudani in several real-estate transactions in the 1990s when he was in private practice and was paid $15,000 three days after his nephew returned some of the funds stolen. The Soudani’s claim Rosenwasser’s probe resulted in Eman Soudani’s “false arrest and imprisonment,” minimized allegations of abuse, ignored evidence of additional criminal activity and concealed bribes. They claim Hoovler and Borek, who tried the case, exhibited “blind reliance” on Rosenwasser and negligently caused wrongful prosecution. Orange County Attorney Rick Golden said in response, “As is the County’s right, I have demanded that each of the claimants appear for questioning by my attorneys regarding their allegations and that they provide their answers under oath. Until such time, as I review the claimants’ sworn testimony, I will have no further comment.” The Soudani family has made headlines before. Marty’s wife, Helen, was killed in an unsolved murder at the couple’s Rockland County restaurant in 1977. His sister, Eman, is accusing him of incest and rape in another lawsuit and claims Rosenwasser, the county and district attorney interfered in a “significant family dispute.” News 12 couldn’t get ahold of Rosenwasser. District Attorney Dave Hoovler said in a statement that the allegations relate “solely and wholly to Judge Rosenwasser and a single case. If true, he disgraced the judiciary, the people he worked with and the citizens of Orange County.” Rosenwasser suddenly retired from the Orange County District Attorney’s office in June. An official source says he is also under federal investigation for tax evasion. The Soudani’s plan to sue for $22.5 million. "
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