Miriam Moskowitz

Miriam Ruth Moskowitz (June 10, 1916 - February 14, 2018) was an American schoolteacher who served two years in prison after being convicted for conspiracy as an atomic spy for the Soviet Union.

Miriam Moskowitz
Born(1916-06-10)10 June 1916
Bayonne, New Jersey
Died14 February 2018(2018-02-14) (aged 101)
EducationCity College of New York (B.S.)
OccupationTeacher
Known forMcCarthy era conviction for conspiracy to obstruct justice

She was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on June 10, 1916. She graduated from the City College of New York evening session with a B.S. in Education in 1942.

Atomic spying case

In 1950, during the McCarthy era and as part of the atomic spies prosecutions, Miriam Moskowitz was indicted for conspiring with Abraham Brothman and Harry Gold to obstruct justice.[1] Moskowitz's prosecution arose from an investigation into Soviet nuclear espionage into the Manhattan Project and related activities by which the United States developed atomic bombs.[2] The investigation was capped by the prosecution and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for spying.[2] Moskowitz and Brothman's trial was presided over by Judge Irving Kaufman, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Irving Saypol and his 23-year-old confidential assistant, Roy Cohn. Harry Gold and Elizabeth Bentley testified against Moskowitz and her codefendant, Abraham Brothman.

Roy Cohn viewed the case as "a dry-run of the upcoming Rosenberg trial. We were able to see how Gold and Bentley fared on the stand, and we were able to see how we fared, Saypol and I.” [3] Only a few months later, Judge Kaufman presided over the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg at which U.S. Attorney Irving Saypol and Roy Cohn prosecuted the Rosenbergs and Harry Gold and Elizabeth Bentley testified against the Rosenbergs.

During her trial, Moskowitz was housed at the New York Women's House of Detention, where she met Ethel Rosenberg.[4]

Moskowitz was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Judge Kaufman sentenced her to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Moskowitz served her time at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson in West Virginia.

In 1951, Abraham Brothman's conviction for obstruction of justice was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on the ground that venue did not lie in the Southern District of New York. United States v. Brothman, 191 F.2d 70 (2d Cir. 1951). Moskowitz's conviction was upheld on appeal. Id.[5] [6]

Irving Saypol was indicted in 1976 with S. Samuel DiFalco for bribery and perjury in connection with an alleged scheme to obtain appraisal and auction commission funds for Saypol's son; the charges were dismissed.[7]

Roy Cohn was disbarred by the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court for unethical conduct in 1986.[8]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation file on the Brothman-Moskowitz case has been unsealed.[9]

Subsequent life

After her release from prison, Moskowitz became a public school math teacher.[10] She was also an amateur violist.[11]

In 2010, Moskowitz published a book about her experience entitled, Phantom Spies, Phantom Justice.[12] [10]

In 2014, Moskowitz filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis to challenge her conviction.[13] Her petition received national news coverage.[14][15][16] [17][18] Her petition was denied by Judge Alvin Hellerstein.[2][19] [6]

A resident of Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey, Miriam died at the age of 101 on February 14, 2018.[20]

References
  1. "FBI Vault: Abraham Brothman Part 7, Indictment at pages 12-15". The FBI Vault. 1950-07-29.
  2. Moskowitz v. United States, 14-cv-6389 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2014).
  3. Cohn, Roy M. (1988). The autobiography of Roy Cohn. Zion, Sidney. Secaucus, N.J.: Lyle Stuart. pp. 61–62. ISBN 081840471X. OCLC 17482400.
  4. Ethel Rosenberg: Beyond the Myths, By Ilene J. Philipson, pages 313-314
  5. Early Cold War Spies: The Espionage Trials that Shaped American Politics, By John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, page 156
  6. 98-year-old woman loses bid to reverse conviction in 1950 spy case, ABA Journal, 5 December 2014
  7. Tom Goldstein (July 1, 1977). "Justice Irving H. Saypol, 71, Dies; Rosenberg Spy‐Trial Prosecutor". New York Times.
  8. "Cohn Ko'D". Time. July 7, 1986. Retrieved March 15, 2008. One hospital attendant testified in a Florida court that Cohn "tried to take (Rosenstiel's) hand for him to sign" the codicil to his will. The lawyer eventually emerged with a document bearing what the New York judges described as "a number of 'squiggly' lines which in no way resemble any letters of the alphabet."
  9. "FBI Records: The Vault". FBI Vault.
  10. "Setting it Straight". The New Yorker. 2010-11-28.
  11. "An old woman's scrap with the Red Scare, finally printed in black and white". August 16, 2012.
  12. Moskowitz, Miriam Ruth (2012). Phantom spies, phantom justice : how I survived McCarthyism and my prosecution that was the rehearsal for the Rosenberg Trial (1st updated ed.). Seattle, WA: The Justice Institute. ISBN 9780985503307. OCLC 813855620.
  13. "Moskowitz Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis, 2014 WL 3924958 (Aug. 14, 2018)" (PDF). Wall Street Journal. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  14. "64 years later, a battle to erase a McCarthy-era conviction". LA Times. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  15. "Miriam Moskowitz, 98, Fights to Clear Her Name of McCarthy-Era Charges". National Public Radio. 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  16. "Woman, 98, fights to have Red Scare conviction tossed". USA Today. 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  17. "Teacher Seeks Exoneration From McCarthy-Era Conviction". Newsweek. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  18. Rose, Lisa. "Retired N.J. teacher, 98, loses bid to clear name in McCarthy-era spy case", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 4, 2014. Accessed July 31, 2018. "NPR.org profiled Miriam Moskowitz of Washington Township, who was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice in 1950 and served two years in prison.... The Bayonne native told NPR and the Star-Ledger that she wound up behind bars in a misguided effort to protect her boss, with whom she was having an affair."
  19. "98-year-old New Jersey woman loses in bid to erase McCarthy-era conviction". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  20. "Miriam Moskowitz". Find-A-Grave. 2018-02-14.
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