Zwi Migdal - Downfall

Downfall

The organization worked to force Raquel Liberman (Łódź, Poland 1900-Buenos Aires, Argentina 1935), a former prostitute, to return to prostitution. Liberman had emigrated to Argentina with her husband, who died soon after, leaving her with two small sons. She used her savings to open an antique shop, which was raided by local pimps. Liberman contacted the police superintendent, Julio Alsogaray, whom she had heard would not accept bribes from Zwi Migdal, and was looking for ways to destroy the organization. Slipping into his office one day, she gave detailed testimony on the workings of Zwi Migdal, thus enabling the police to launch an extensive investigation. The case was handled by an investigative judge, Dr. Rodriguez Ocampo, who also refused to be bribed. The lengthy trial ended in September 1930, with 108 criminal convictions. "The very existence of the Zwi Migdal Organization directly threatens our society," Judge Ocampo wrote in his verdict, handing down long prison sentences. The pimps appealed their sentences from prison in January 1931, and senior Justice Ministry officials released all but three of them. After this was reported in the media, public outrage convinced the authorities to rescind the releases. Later, hundreds of pimps were deported to Uruguay, but slowly returned over the years, one by one.