Lawyers for a man who pleaded guilty Thursday in the first ever federal conviction for illegal organ trafficking say he was performing life-saving services for severely ill people. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, from New York, admitted in a Trenton federal court to brokering three illegal kidney transplants for desperate New Jersey-based customers in exchange for payments of $120,000 or more. He also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count for brokering an illegal kidney sale. Convicted trafficker: Levy Izhak Rosenbaum , 60, before entering the courthouse in Trenton, New Jersey, on Thursday Attorneys Ronald Kleinberg and Richard Finkel say Rosenbaum never solicited clients.
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First ever U.S. federal conviction for organ trafficking
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His lawyers claimed he was providing life-saving service
Caught in a sting: Rosenbaum is handcuffed and arrested in 2009 after a huge probe intro corruption in @placeholder