In what may turn out to be one of the biggest scandals to rock the Northeast Jewish community, not to mention the political scene in New Jersey and New York, Charles Kushner, a billionaire philanthropist and co-founder of Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and Kushner Yeshiva High School, has been indicted on charges involving an attempt to subvert a witness in a federal investigation, “obstruction of justice and interstate promotion of prostitution.”

CNN reports that investigations into Mr. Kushner’s campaign contributions to top Northeast democrats, including Hillary Clinton, Joseph Lieberman and Jim McGreevey, as well as violations of “federal tax and fraud statutes” have been going on since February, 2003.

The New York Times has the full story on his prostitution promotion, and the implications it holds for NJ Governor Jim McGreevey, who has a “close relationship” with Mr. Kushner, and received $1.5 million from the businessman for his political campaigns.:

In a criminal complaint that reads like a plot line from an Elmore Leonard novel, Charles Kushner, a New Jersey landowner and businessman with close ties to many religious and political figures, was charged with hiring prostitutes to entice his brother-in-law and his accountant into sexually compromising situations.

The complaint says that the accountant did not take the bait, but that the brother-in-law did. The result, prosecutors said, was a sexual encounter between the brother-in-law and a high-priced New York call girl in a Bridgewater motel room last December that was recorded by a hidden camera.

The complaint, which mentions no name except Mr. Kushner’s, says that he and his co-conspirators mailed the incriminating tape to a relative with whom he was feuding and who was cooperating with investigators. Based on the allegations in a separate civil suit, that family member is believed to be Mr. Kushner’s sister, Esther Schulder. Her husband, William E. Schulder, did not return calls seeking confirmation that he was involved. Robert Yontef, the accountant, could not be reached either. The mailing, according to the complaint, was an attempt to “retaliate” against the potential witnesses and block any further cooperation.

The two yeshivot closely associated with Mr. Kushner have yet to issue a statement.