RABBI PLEADS INNOCENT TO DRUG SMUGGLING

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A diminutive 73-year-old rabbi in a rumpled pinstripe suit
was released without bail Thursday on a charge he smuggled drugs into a
federal prison in the Adirondacks where he ministered to inmates.

Eli Gottesman, a former "Rabbi of the Year," has pleaded innocent to the
charge of attempting to provide contraband, a felony.

Authorities say Gottesman tried to smuggle a bottle of Pert Plus shampoo
filled with cocaine and marijuana encased in balloons into the Federal
Correctional Institute at Ray Brook, in the Adirondack Mountains.

Gottesman was arrested by a special agent of the U.S. Justice Department on
Oct. 7. Authorities said he had been under investigation for the past
several months by prison officials, as well the Justice Department, the
FBI, and state police.

Gottesman could face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine,
federal prosecutor Richard Hartunian.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski