Stewart Rosenwasser, a retired judge and former prosecutor from upstate New York, reportedly took his own life on Tuesday morning during a confrontation with FBI agents. The agents were attempting to arrest Rosenwasser on charges of bribery and corruption. The incident occurred at Rosenwasser’s residence in Orange County, shortly after 9:30 am, according to law enforcement sources.
The FBI has confirmed that the incident is under review by the Inspection Division, which is standard procedure for agent-involved shootings. The agency has not released further details, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The fatal incident followed a federal grand jury’s decision to indict Rosenwasser on charges of accepting $63,000 in bribes to manipulate a case. The case involved a former acquaintance who alleged that he had been defrauded by family members. The indictment, spanning 43 pages, implicated Rosenwasser and businessman Mout’z Soudani in a scheme to build a case against Soudani’s sister and nephew, in an attempt to recover the allegedly stolen funds.
The indictment document revealed text exchanges between Rosenwasser and Soudani, suggesting their collaboration. Federal prosecutors also alleged that the pair attempted to conceal their illicit exchanges, with Rosenwasser advising Soudani to cease creating text messages.
The alleged embezzlement scheme targeted Martin Soudani and his mother, Eman Soudani, who were accused of stealing $1.6 million from Mout’z Soudani, a former restaurateur. In March 2023, Rosenwasser, serving as an Orange County assistant district attorney, charged the Soudanis with grand larceny and issued arrest warrants.
Defense lawyers requested Rosenwasser’s recusal from the case, citing a conflict of interest due to his previous representation of Mout’z Soudani. Rosenwasser denied the conflict and remained on the case until June 2023, when he was replaced. By March 2024, the case against Soudani’s sister was dismissed, and his nephew agreed to a plea deal.
Martin Soudani and Eman Soudani subsequently filed a $22.5 million lawsuit, alleging that the cases against them were tainted. Court filings described the alleged bribery scheme as potentially the most egregious example of prosecutorial corruption in New York’s legal history.
Rosenwasser resigned from the District Attorney’s office earlier this year as the investigation intensified. His son, Jason, has requested privacy for the family and questioned reports of his father’s suicide.
The federal indictment charged Rosenwasser and Mout’z Soudani with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and honest services wire fraud. The FBI reported that Rosenwasser had barricaded himself in his home and fired shots, prompting a request for a SWAT team from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Rosenwasser was later found dead.