Wellington, FL - Donor Sues Rabbi over Ark

Wellington, FL - When Loretta Miller's husband of more than 26 years died in October 2003, her rabbi suggested she donate an ark to house the Torah -- in his memory.

Miller is suing Rabbi Mendy Muskal of a synagogue in Wellington, he claims the rabbis family used the $18,000 she donated to boost their lifestyle, take a family trip to Israel and deliver an ark that cost only $2,000.

Sometime before the scheduled October 2004 unveiling of the ark memorializing Jordan Miller, his widow said, she learned she had been "duped." While at the Muskals' home, Loretta Miller said, the rabbi took her into his garage and showed her a wood cabinet with mahogany veneer on top of plywood. "It looked like somebody did it as a hobby and it just looked horrible," she said. "It looked like an armoire."

Muskal denies all of Miller's allegations and says he's confident a court will agree he did nothing wrong. "We'll be proven to be meritorious in this," he said, adding that donations are not spent on a dollar-for-dollar basis. "We need those funds for operating and programming. That's how we're able to provide half a dozen classes a week for free." 
On the advice of his attorney, Muskal declined to comment on the cost of the ark or who built it.