Olmert charged in three corruption affairs

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"Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted Sunday in three corruption affairs, concluding months of investigations into cases allegedly conducted during his tenure as trade minister.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz had announced earlier this month that Olmert would be charged in the Rishon Tours, cash envelopes and Investment Center affairs. Mazuz had rejected a request by Olmert's attorneys for a pre-trial, claiming their client had given up that right by refusing to attend an earlier hearing.

The former prime minister had claimed then that the prosecution could not discuss the matters with an open mind, as they had already decided to press charges against his former travel coordinator, Rachel Risby-Raz, for her involvement in the Rishon Tours case.

The former prime minister has now been charged with accepting cash envelopes from American businessman Morris Talansky.

He is also suspected of illegally double-billing charities and a government ministry for the same flights he booked through Rishon Tours, sending them falsified receipts for travel expenses and using the surplus to finance personal and family trips abroad.

The Investments Center affair, which was first reported in Haaretz, concerned allegations that Olmert granted personal favors to his old law partner, Uri Messer, who was acting on behalf of a company, an act which would constitute a conflict of interest, breach of trust, and fraud."

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Though the cash envelopes is a bit more extreme.

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"Former prime minister Ehud Olmert's media adviser Amir Dan on Sunday defended his client's innocence, after the State Prosecution presented the court with indictment papers over three alleged corruption affairs.

Following news of the indictment, Dan accused the attorney general and prosecution of having no choice but to indict Olmert, after having forced him out of office.

"The court, meanwhile, is free of such considerations, and as such Olmert is convinced that he will once and for all be able to prove his innocence in court," said Dan.

"It is important to remember that the Cremieux and Bank Leumi affairs also began with giant headlines and dragged on for years and they both ended with nothing," said Dan referring to two other Olmert corruption affairs that were closed.

"These cases will end similarly," Dan added."

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"A day after Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz filed an indictment against Ehud Olmert, a criminal law expert on Monday morning said that if the former prime minister is convicted, he will probably be sent to prison for a long period of time.

"If he is convicted of the incredibly corrupt crimes with which he has been charged, I don't see how the court can avoid sentencing him to a long prison term," Professor Emanuel Gross told Army Radio.

Responding to remarks by Olmert's legal team, who have predicted the case will be "an embarrassment to prosecutors," Gross explained that while the indictment is clearly unusually harsh, "both in scope and in severity," the prosecution would not have taken the former premier to court had they not been convinced they had a firmly based case.

"The prosecution has 'done its homework.' Otherwise it wouldn't have taken Olmert to court," the legal expert said."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251145158438&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Shlomo Benizri, sentenced to four years in prison, spends recent weeks attending conferences, with family. Abraham Hirchson, sentenced to five years in prison, also spends his last days as a free man with relatives

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3770118,00.html

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"War on corruption will land another landmark Tuesday morning with two former ministers entering jails to start serving their sentences.

Shlomo Benizri will arrive at the Maasiyahu Prison where he is to begin serving his four-year sentenced by the Supreme Court. Benizri was convicted of receiving bribes from contractor Moshe Sela and his sentence from the Jerusalem District Court was aggravated by the Supreme Court.

Former Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson, sentenced to five years and five months after being convicted of theft of roughly NIS 2 million (about half a million dollars) from the Histadrut Labor Federation and of obtaining by fraud, will start jail time at the Hermon Prison."

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"Former president Moshe Katsav found himself in the accused stand Tuesday morning, as his trial for rape and other sex crimes got underway at Tel Aviv District Court.

Two prosecution witnesses were to give testimony Tuesday; "L" and "H" both worked at the president's official residence while Katsav was head of state.

Katsav is charged with the rape and sexual assault of a female aide while tourism minister, the sexual harassment of two other aides while president, and obstruction of justice. He has so far denied all charges against him.

He resigned toward the end of his term, and was replaced by Shimon Peres - the man who lost to Katsav in the July 2000 vote."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1111618.html