Orthodox Jew who led state Assembly for decades dies in prison, where he was serving 6.5 year sentence for a corruption scandal that ended his storied career in Albany

Lt. gov. was among first to call out recent antisemitism spurt in New York; made impression by attending meetings with Jewish community leaders and touring Hasidic strongholds

None of the intimidation, mostly made via identical messages, is found to be credible; source of warnings unknown