Prosecutors Use Yiddish Curse in Case Against Puerto Rican Shooter
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Prosecutors used the Yiddish curse word “shmuck” when arguing against a Puerto Rican convicted murderer who believes he is innocent after being sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.
Rafael Jimenez, 39, claims witnesses heard the assailant utter the Dominican swear word “mamaguevo” before fatally shooting Michael Brana on June 25, 1992 near Yankee Stadium. Jimenez argued he would never use the profanity because he is a native of Puerto Rico.
According to court documents, Bronx prosecutors said “‘oy vey!’ to Jimenez’s assertion, arguing he could have said the curse word just as easily as people use familiar Yiddish terms.
“The idea that [the] defendant could never have uttered that Dominican profanity, then, is absurd,” prosecutors said “That assertion seems as unrealistic as saying that no non-Jewish person would ever call anyone a ‘shmuck.'”