By ANDREW DeMILLO | Arkansas Advocate
A former nursing home owner pardoned by President Donald Trump asked a judge Tuesday for a delay before he has to report to an Arkansas prison to serve his state sentence, citing concerns that the state would be unable to meet his religious dietary needs.
Attorneys for Joseph Schwartz asked a judge for an extension to her order that he report to the Arkansas Department of Corrections by December 29.
Schwartz, of New York, was three months into a three-year federal sentence for tax fraud when President Donald Trump pardoned him in November. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Karen Whatley last week ordered Schwartz to report to the Ouachita River Correctional Unit to serve out the remainder of his one-year sentence for his state conviction on Medicaid fraud and tax evasion charges.
Attorney General Tim Griffin earlier this month filed a petition seeking that Schwartz serve out the rest of his state sentence.
Schwartz’s one-year Arkansas sentence was to run concurrently with his federal sentence, according to his plea deal with the state. Whatley had rejected Schwartz’s argument that the three months he served in federal prison made him immediately eligible for state parole.
In Tuesday’s filing, Schwartz’s attorneys said as a rabbi, he must adhere to a strict kosher diet.
He’s restricted to a stricter form of kosher meat, not just from eating pork, according to the court filing.
“Schwartz does not believe the Arkansas Department of Corrections is sufficiently prepared to care for him and meet his religious and dietary needs while in custody,” Schwartz’s attorneys said in the filing.
Griffin’s office dismissed the motion as a delay tactic and said they would oppose the motion.
“Joseph Schwartz’s motion is a baseless attempt to delay completing his sentence,” spokesman Jeff LeMaster said in an email. “We have confirmed that the Department of Corrections has a kosher kitchen ready to meet Schwartz’s dietary needs.”
Schwartz pleaded guilty last year in federal court for his role in a $38 million tax fraud scheme involving nursing homes he owned across the country. He was pardoned by Trump in November.
Under Arkansas law, Schwartz is required to serve a third of his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.
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