A retired New York judge and former prosecutor, Stewart Rosenwasser, allegedly died by suicide during a shootout with FBI agents on Tuesday morning, September 24.
The agents were attempting to arrest him on bribery and corruption charges when Rosenwasser reportedly fired at them as they approached his home in Orange County. He was found dead shortly after 9:30 am.
The FBI has confirmed that the incident is under review by its Inspection Division, as is standard procedure in shootings involving agents
A day after a federal grand jury indicted him for allegedly accepting $63,000 in bribes to manipulate a case, retired New York judge Stewart Rosenwasser was involved in a shootout with FBI agents, leading to his death. The indictment alleges that Rosenwasser conspired with millionaire Mout’z Soudani to frame Soudani’s relatives, accusing them of embezzling $1.6 million.
Text messages between the two show their efforts to build a case, with Rosenwasser later advising they stop communicating via text. In March 2023, Rosenwasser, then an assistant district attorney, charged Soudani’s sister and nephew with grand larceny.
However, he was removed from the case due to a potential conflict of interest and later resigned as the investigation intensified, culminating in this week’s indictment. The charges against Soudani’s sister were eventually dropped, while his nephew pled guilty. A lawsuit filed by the family alleges prosecutorial misconduct. Rosenwasser’s son, Jason, expressed doubts about reports of his father’s suicide, highlighting conflicting accounts from the FBI.
The scandal led to a federal raid on Stewart Rosenwasser’s home in July and forced his resignation from the DA’s Office. He and millionaire Mout’z Soudani were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud, and honest services wire fraud. When FBI agents arrived at Rosenwasser’s home on Route 416, he reportedly barricaded himself and exchanged gunfire with them, prompting a SWAT team request. Rosenwasser was later found dead.
