RABBI PLEADS GUILTY TO REDUCED CHARGE

Accused Of Smuggling Drugs Into Federal Prison

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A rabbi charged with smuggling drugs into a federal
prison where he was chaplain to Jewish inmates pleaded guilty today to a
lesser charge that could put him behind bars for less than a year.

Eli Gottesman, 74, could have been gotten up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

Instead, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government by
bringing into the prison items such as Stars of David, clothing, watches and
food. Sentencing was set for Jan. 5.

'God's ways are very mysterious'

Gottesman was accused of trying to smuggle a shampoo bottle filled with
cocaine and marijuana encased in balloons into the prison at Ray Brook, in
the Adirondack Mountains.

In a rapid-fire but rambling 20-minute explanation in court, Gottesman said
the bottle was sent to him, and he knew nothing about drugs inside it.

"God's ways are very mysterious," he told reporters, peppering his statement
with references to Moses. "Why did this happen? I don't know why this
happened. Things have happened to greater people than me."

Gottesman provided religious services to Jewish inmates and also worked as a
chaplain at five state prisons in New York.