{"id":132,"date":"2015-03-13T00:39:46","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T00:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.israelgreenwald.com\/?page_id=132"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:26:09","slug":"the-real-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/?page_id=132","title":{"rendered":"The Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Israel<\/a>

Israel (age 34), Leah (age 32), Michal (age 9) and Yael (age 8) in 1985.<\/p><\/div>\n

Israel Greenwald was the picture of devotion \u2014 a kind, hardworking Orthodox Jew, a loving husband, and a proud father of two little girls. In Far Rockaway, New York, he built an honest life through grit and determination, founding Blue River Inc., a jewelry business respected by everyone who knew him.<\/p>\n

In 1985, a fellow Hasidic jeweler \u2014 we\u2019ll call him \u201cHT\u201d \u2014 asked Israel for what seemed like a simple favor: to deposit a bond in Europe during one of his frequent business trips. Israel was not chosen at random. He was a Liberian diplomat, and that status made him an ideal target. With diplomatic protections and less scrutiny from banks and authorities, he seemed like the perfect person to carry out the transaction without raising suspicion.\u00a0 Trusting his friend, Israel agreed, never imagining the danger he was stepping into. When he returned to the U.S., he was stopped by the FBI at customs. Questioned, he told them the truth: the bond wasn\u2019t his \u2014 a friend had given it to him. Only then did he learn the devastating reality\u2026 the bond was stolen.<\/p>\n

The FBI demanded that Israel secretly record \u201cHT\u201d confessing to the crime and to get him to divulge who was behind it. Desperate for religious guidance, Israel traveled to Canada to consult a great Rabbi. Unaware of just how dangerous the situation was, the Rabbi advised that under no circumstances could he be a moser<\/em>\u2014someone who turns in another Jew. When the FBI forced Israel to wear a wire, he found a way to tip off his friend, making sure he would not entrap himself.\u00a0 \u00a0Instead, Israel confided in him directly without a wire, urging him to cooperate and come clean.<\/p>\n

Israel had no idea the forces he had stumbled into. “HT” was connected to “JB”, a Hassid involved in a massive Treasury bond scam, run by none other than Burt Kaplan \u2014 a notorious criminal mastermind.<\/p>\n

When Kaplan heard Israel might cooperate with the Feds, he made a swift, brutal decision: Israel had to be silenced.<\/p>\n

Kaplan reached out to Frank Santora, an old prison contact, who knew just the men for the job \u2014 NYPD detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, later known as the “Mafia Cops.” Using their police badges and access to confidential databases, they hunted down Israel\u2019s every detail: address, car, daily routine.<\/p>\n

The trap was set.
On the morning of February 10, 1986, as Israel drove to work, they pulled him over, flashing their badges and accusing him of involvement in a hit-and-run. Trusting the men he thought were real officers, Israel got into their car \u2014 unaware he was being driven to his death.<\/p>\n

They brought him to a dusty Brooklyn garage on Nostrand Avenue owned by an innocent man, Pete Franzone. According to Franzone\u2019s later testimony, he saw them walk in with a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. Twenty minutes later, only the cops emerged. When Santora called him inside, Pete found Israel\u2019s lifeless body. Santora threatened him: help bury the body, or join him in the grave.<\/p>\n

Terrified, Franzone dug the hole. And for 19 years, he kept the secret, living with the horror of what he had witnessed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Israel\u2019s family was left in a nightmare \u2014 no body, no answers, no closure. Rumors swirled. Some whispered he had abandoned his family. Others imagined darker theories. They had no way of knowing he had been murdered by men sworn to protect.<\/p>\n

In 2005, the dam finally broke. Burt Kaplan turned informant, confessing he had paid $30,000 to have a “Jewish jeweler” killed. But Kaplan didn\u2019t know Israel\u2019s name, nor exactly where the body lay \u2014 only that it happened somewhere along Brooklyn\u2019s endless Nostrand Avenue.<\/p>\n

Detectives, refusing to let the case go cold, unearthed a crucial clue: Frank Santora\u2019s old homicide file, and inside it, a forgotten phonebook \u2014 with Pete Franzone\u2019s towing company number. When confronted, Franzone led them to the hidden grave.<\/p>\n

Israel Greenwald\u2019s body was finally recovered. After 19 agonizing years, he was laid to rest in Israel.<\/p>\n

Justice came one year later. In April 2006, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were convicted not only of Israel\u2019s murder but of seven others. They were sentenced to life in prison, where they both eventually died \u2014 their badges and their honor long since rotted away.<\/p>\n

(*Chillingly, Kaplan later ordered the cops to kill “HT” too. When Eppolito and Caracappa cornered him in a Williamsburg stairwell, “HT” sensed the trap. With a desperate shove, he sent the much larger Eppolito stumbling down the stairs and fled screaming for help. His instincts saved his life \u2014 and years later, his survival added yet another charge to the Mafia Cops’ long list of crimes.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Click to read an excerpt from the book “The Brotherhoods”
\nwritten by the detective Willian Oldham who cracked the case, which tells the story in greater detail<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation\u00a0<\/span>Hardcover \u2013 January 14, 2025 <\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>Michael Cannell\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

MORE ABOUT\u00a0ISRAEL GREENWALD
\n<\/strong>by Michal Greenwald (Eldest Daughter)
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Although he lived just 34 short years, Israel Greenwald left behind a lifetime of impact. To me, he was \u201cAbba\u201d \u2014 Daddy \u2014 and he was our whole world. I wanted to share a little about the man my father was and the life he lived.<\/p>\n

Israel was born in Israel to Hungarian Holocaust survivors who had each lost families in the war. His birth was a symbol of hope \u2014 he was named after his grandfather who perished in the camps. Deeply devoted to his parents, Israel would later fly across the world at a moment\u2019s notice just to fix something as small as an air conditioner for them.<\/p>\n

Raised in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, Israel was a brilliant student and a natural leader. His heart was just as big as his mind: as a teenager, he founded an organization that offered interest-free loans to people in need, ensuring that one act of kindness could ripple out to many.<\/p>\n

Israel dreamed of being his own boss. Forgoing university, he studied at Chevron Yeshiva and, in his early twenties, opened the first pizza shop in ultra-Orthodox Bnei Brak \u2014 a bold and controversial move at the time. Despite community skepticism, the store thrived and paved the way for dozens more that followed.<\/p>\n

At 21, Israel met and married Leah. They were a young, beautiful couple, full of hope. After the birth of their first child, Michal, they moved briefly to South Africa to learn the diamond trade, then headed to America, where their second daughter, Yael, was born. Israel founded Blue River Enterprises, a jewelry business that quickly flourished thanks to his charisma, trustworthiness, and ambition. He also ventured into real estate and other projects, always eager to build a better life for his family.<\/p>\n

Even as his success grew, Israel remained deeply religious and humble. He prayed three times a day, never missed a Sabbath at home, and generously supported countless individuals and charities \u2014 often quietly, never seeking recognition. To him, giving wasn\u2019t charity; it was a responsibility.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s love of animals remained: the family home bustled with pets \u2014 even, at one point, a pet monkey. He was warm, responsible, and deeply organized, making sure his family was always cared for no matter what.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, Israel\u2019s business led him to diplomatic ties with Liberia. Trusted and respected, he tragically became entangled when a friend asked him to unknowingly transfer a fraudulent bond. When the authorities demanded he secretly record his friend, Israel was torn \u2014 loyal but also desperate to protect his family. He even considered moving back to Israel to escape the impossible situation. He never imagined it would cost him his life.<\/p>\n

In 1986, Israel was murdered at the orders of Burt Kaplan, who feared Israel might expose his criminal network. Kaplan hired two NYPD officers \u2014 later infamous as the “Mafia Cops” \u2014 to carry out the killing.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s body wasn\u2019t found for 19 years. During that agonizing time, his family was left in financial ruin, unable to collect insurance, preyed upon by opportunists, and tormented by rumors. Only when Kaplan finally turned informant did the truth emerge, bringing long-overdue closure and justice: Eppolito and Caracappa were convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where they eventually died.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s loss devastated our family, but his legacy \u2014 of kindness, courage, and faith \u2014 continues to shine. His short life was nothing less than extraordinary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israel Greenwald was the picture of devotion \u2014 a kind, hardworking Orthodox Jew, a loving husband, and a proud father of two little girls. In Far Rockaway, New York, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"page-right-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-132","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1273,"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/132\/revisions\/1273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/israelgreenwald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}