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Next year, Brooklyn matzah thief won’t be free

Muntaquim Durant, 44, was sentenced for two-and-a-half to five years for stealing more than $94,000 from a matzah factory before Passover.

Baking shmurah matzah in Jerusalem for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, April 11, 2022. Photo by Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90.
Baking shmurah matzah in Jerusalem for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, April 11, 2022. Photo by Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90.

A Brooklyn, N.Y. man didn’t know on what side the bread of his affliction was buttered.

Muntaquim Durant, 44, was sentenced on Monday to between two-and-a-half and five years in prison for stealing more than $94,000 from a Williamsburg matzah factory on Feb. 28, weeks before Passover.

“This defendant brazenly broke into a religious institution that was gearing up to make matzahs before the start of a Jewish holiday,” stated Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “He was caught red-handed and will now be held responsible.”

Eric Gonzalez
Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, visits a Satmar matzah bakery on March 28, 2023. Credit: Courtesy.

According to the district attorney’s office, Durant entered a Satmar Chassidic matzah factory located at 423 Broadway in Williamsburg at about 9:50 a.m. on Feb. 28.

“Surveillance video captured him enter the building, rummage through jackets on a coat rack, go upstairs, pour himself a cup of coffee and enter the location’s office on the second floor,” per the DA’s office.

“The office was locked, but the defendant forced his way in and then exited the office a few seconds later with what appeared to be a wad of cash and checks in his pockets. He then exited the location,” it stated.

In total, he stole more than $60,000 in cash and $34,000-plus in checks.

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