When Dave Greenberg decided to run to be a NY State assemblyman, I took the unpaid job of being his press assistant. Writing up releases and flyers, helping to prep him for interviews. The plan was that if elected, I would be a staffer. He won the election, but then it turned out he didn’t have funding for my position. Like so many others, I was disappointed by the Batman.
During the campaign, Greenberg’s wife Irene was kidnapped. She was only held for about 24 hours, and then released. I drove the car, with Greenberg, a police captain buddy of his, and another Greenberg staffer, when we got a call that she had been released. My car happened to be nearest his house, so we sped to the scene in my mighty green AMC Gremlin. I drove fast and reckless, and we raced up and got to her even before police. I still remember standing there as police cars screeched up, cops with guns drawn. Greenberg embracing his wife, his cop buddy waving his shield to keep us from getting shot, and me just standing there frozen.
To my knowledge, the kidnapping has never been solved. There were rumors that it was a message from the Mafia that Greenberg needed to know who was really in charge.
Dave and Irene Greenberg, circa 1974
In 1978, three years after he left the police force, David Greenberg, then a Brooklyn Assemblyman, was convicted in Federal District Court in Brooklyn of mail fraud and obstruction of justice in connection with a Small Business Administration loan. He served nine months. In 1990 he was sentenced to four years in federal prison again on new white collar fraud charges.
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