Former Fresno raisin industry leader charged with making threats against Jewish neighbor
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bruce Lion was arrested in Pacific Palisades after hurling antisemitic insults.
- Lion is jailed in Los Angeles County on $50,000 bond pending expected criminal charges.
- He pleaded no contest to criminal threats and assault and battery in 2019.
Bruce Lion, a maverick in the San Joaquin Valley’s raisin industry, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of making threats against his Pacific Palisades neighbor.
The 64-year-old Lion was arrested Saturday after allegedly hurling antisemitic insults at his Jewish neighbor.
Lion, a member of the family that owns one of the largest raisin enterprises in the region, is currently in a Los Angeles County jail on a $50,000 bond.
He is charged with one count of using threats or force because of someone’s beliefs and two counts of threatening “ to commit a crime with intent to terrorize.” Lion is expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
Lion's neighbor Rabbi Zushe Cunin told the California Post that he has been targeted by Lion since March when Lion moved into the $5.3 million mansion next door to his chabad.
The rabbi accused Lion of interrupting a congregation at his home while shouting antisemitic statements in front of children, according to the Post.
“It was horrific,” Cunin told the Post. “I’ve never experienced it, especially in front of kids. Little children. In this country, to have to see this kind of hatred and antisemitism is just unacceptable.”
During the late 1990s, Lion, his father, Al Lion Jr., and brothers managed Lion Raisins, the family’s 120-year-old business based in Selma.
Although Bruce Lion is hailed by some in the raisin industry as a leader, Fresno County Superior Court records also reveal his troubled past. In 2019, he pleaded no contest to a charge of making criminal threats. That same year, he pleaded no contest to a charge of assault and battery.
Court records also show that in 2018, a relative accused him of punching him in the face while they were at work. Lion had been accused by Lion company officials of creating a hostile work environment, and he blamed the relative for it.
In a request for a civil restraining order, the relative wrote: “The above person (Bruce Lion) is not mentally stable and he has a gun.”
