New York scandal: Ex-judge involved in bribery scheme commits suicide during arrest after opening fire on FBI agents

Stewart Rosenwasser, a former prosecutor and retired judge in Orange County, New York, allegedly committed suicide Tuesday when the FBI arrived at his home to arrest him over a corruption case that caught the attention of local media in recent weeks.

According to various reports, FBI agents arrived at Rosenwasser's Campbell Hall home to arrest him as part of the case, but the former judge ended up committing suicide after allegedly opening fire on officials.

The FBI reported that it is investigating the incident and that, at this time, it cannot provide further details or clarify what happened at Rosenwasser's home.

"The FBI is reviewing an agent-involved shooting that occurred earlier this morning in Campbell Hall, NY. The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI's Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide."

However, law enforcement sources told the New York Post that the judge "opened fire on the agents as they approached his Orange County home" shortly after 9:30 a.m., before ending his life.

Rosenwasser's son, Jason, sent an email to the NYP asking for privacy. He said he doubted reports that his father had committed suicide.

"The only thing I feel compelled to point out is that the local news headlines are reporting that my father fatally shot himself while also reporting in the same article that the FBI field office issued a statement calling it an agent-involved shooting," Jason said.

The development came just a day after a federal grand jury voted to indict Rosenwasser for accepting $63,000 in bribes to manipulate the case of a longtime friend who claimed he had been swindled by his family.

In the 43-page indictment, Rosenwasser and billionaire businessman Mout'z Soudani were accused of conspiring to build a case against Soudani's sister and nephew, with the intention of recovering the allegedly stolen money.

Several messages between Rosenwasser and Soudani appear in the indictment that incriminate both men.

The indictment states that the plot between the suspects targeted Martin Soudani and his mother, Eman Soudani, who allegedly embezzled $1.6 million from Mout'z Soudani.

On March 8, 2023, Rosenwasser, who at the time was serving as deputy district attorney for Orange County, charged Soudani's relatives with grand larceny and obtained warrants for their arrests.

The case moved quickly, and when they appeared in court, the defense asked that Rosenwasser drop the case because of his relationship with Mout'z Soudani, whom he had represented in the 1990s. The former judge initially managed to stay on the case but was later replaced by the district attorney's office.

A year later, in March 2024, the case against Soudani's sister was dismissed, but her nephew, Martin, agreed to plead guilty to grand larceny in exchange for a prison sentence of 1-7 years.

But the conflict continued and Martin and Eman Soudani filed a $22.5 million lawsuit claiming that the allegations against them were tainted by Rosenwasser's role and his relationship with Mout'z Soudani.

The case escalated, investigations intensified and Rosenwasser eventually resigned from the district attorney's office. His home was raided in July and he died on September 24, as FBI agents attempted to arrest him.