In legal triumph for State Attorney's Office,
former PM Ehud Olmert, his bureau chief Shula Zaken and eight other
defendants are found guilty of bribery charges • Prosecution: Justice
has prevailed • Olmert's attorneys: This is not the end of things.
Former Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert and his ex-bureau chief Shula Zaken in court, Monday
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Photo credit: Tomer Appelbaum  |
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Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was
convicted Monday of receiving bribes to facilitate the construction of
the Holyland housing project in Jerusalem a decade ago.
Tel Aviv District Court Judge David Rozen
announced the verdict after denying the State Attorney's Office motion
for a stay of verdict, which was filed after the prosecution had signed a
plea bargain with Shula Zaken, Olmert's former bureau chief, to secure
her testimony against him.
The court acknowledged the state's deal with
Zaken, convicting her of two counts of accepting bribes. As part of the
deal, Zaken is supposed to serve an 11-month jail sentence, but the
judge made no mention as to whether he plans to sign off on the
sentencing recommendation.
Credit: Reuters
Rozen ruled, unequivocally, that Olmert had perjured himself in court and that "it was clear that Olmert bought Zaken's silence."
"It was also very clear throughout the trial
that Mrs. Zaken was willing to sacrifices herself for Olmert, who knew
it and took advantage of it. Mrs. Zaken remained silent and has paid the
price," Rozen said.
The judge criticized Zaken's "eagerness to do
Olmert's bidding," adding that her testimony was "skewed and
problematic" and that she was a "knowing and willing participant" in the
various illicit transactions to which Olmert was party.
Rozen further dismissed Olmert's assertions
throughout the trial -- that he never had any knowledge of any
wrongdoing by those involved in the Holyland housing project -- as
"impossible," given the scope of the payments and corrupt practices
revealed during the trial.
"The defendant's entire line of defense is implausible," Rozen said of Olmert.
The Holyland case, one of the gravest
corruption trials ever held against a public official in Israel, saw 13
defendants face various bribery charges. Of the 13, three -- Yaakov
Efrati, former head of the Israel Land Administration, and developers
Amnon Safran and Shimon Galon -- were found not guilty on the basis of
reasonable doubt.
Other than Olmert and Zaken, the court also
found the eight other defendants in the case – former Jerusalem Mayor
Uri Lupolianski, his deputy Eliezer Simhayof, former Jerusalem city
engineer Uri Sheetrit, former Bank Hapoalim chairman Danny Dankner,
developers Hillel Cherny and Avigdor Kelner, and businessmen Meir Rabin
and Avraham Penner -- guilty of offering and receiving bribes, and money
laundering.
According to Israeli law, a bribery conviction
carries a mandatory prison sentence of between three and seven years,
depending on the circumstances of the case. Rozen allowed the parties 45
days to appeal the conviction.
Moreover, a bribery conviction carries with it
moral turpitude, which according to legal experts effectively spells
the end of Olmert's political career -- unless the verdict is overturned
on appeal.
The ruling, which stretches across 700 pages,
marks a legal triumph for the State Attorney's Office, which saw two
previous corruption cases against Olmert, the first involving alleged
payoffs by American businessmen Morris Talansky and the second alleging
double billing of travel expenses by his bureau, crumble.
The verdict in the Holyland case is expected to have a significant impact on the appeals filed in both cases.
Commenting on the testimony of
developer-turned-state's witness Shmuel Dechner, Rozen noted, "The
witness' testimony was pivotal to the trial as it illustrated the ways
and means by which the bribery practices were carried out.
"The witness shed light on a system of
government that has been rotting away for years. Despite being very ill,
it was clear that Dechner was making extraordinary efforts to testify
in a clear manner. While the fact that this was a lacking testimony
cannot be ignored, it also cannot be used to set this testimony aside
altogether," the judge said. Dechner died in 2013 before he was
cross-examined by the defense.
The sentencing phase of the trial is set to
begin on April 28. The state has asked the court to issue an order
preventing the defendants from leaving Israel prior to the conclusion of
the proceedings.
'A resounding wake-up call'
"We will study the ruling and the relevant
material before deciding on our next move," Tel Aviv District
Prosecution's Financial Crime Division head Liat Ben-Ari, who together
with attorney Yonatan Tadmor served as the state's lead prosecutor in
the Holyland case, told Channel 10.
Commenting on the plea bargain struck with
Zaken, she said: "The material we have in our possession is very unusual
and it made us believe that it was in the public's best interest that
we consider making this deal. It is not very often that we are able to
obtain such material, such evidence, and that is why we agreed to the
deal. The court may not sanction the deal, and that would be okay --
we'll accept that and work from there."
The State Attorney's Office "has been sparing
no efforts through the years to fight corruption, especially among
public officials. When this case came across our desks four years ago we
thought it was fictional, but today it has turned out to be the truth
and the whole truth. That's what we fought for, so see the truth come
out and justice prevail," she said.
"Fighting corruption is a relentless struggle.
Today, the judge ruled that this case was not based on fiction but on
hair-raising fact," Tadmor said. "Anyone contemplating acts of bribery
should know that the police and the State Attorney's Office will spare
no efforts to uncover such wrongdoing."
Olmert's attorney, Roy Blecher, told reporters
outside the courtroom that the defense teams plans to study the ruling.
He did not confirm whether the former prime minister would pursue an
appeal but noted that Dechner's not having been cross-examined could be
used as ground for one.
Olmert's communications adviser, Amir Dan,
told reporters, "This is a difficult day. We have nothing but respect
for the court, and you must remember that the court did exonerate Olmert
from two other counts. This trial was based on the testimony of a
state's witness branded by this very court as a liar. We were unable to
cross-examine him. We will study the ruling and this is not the end of
it."
Following the ruling, the Movement for Quality
Government in Israel issued a statement saying: "We are stunned by the
conviction of a former prime minister in such a far-reaching corruption
case, and one that has uncovered how deeply corrupt some systems of
government were. This is a resounding wake-up call for all those
entrusted with fighting corruption and dishonesty in the civil service,
which as we have seen today reach even its highest levels. This is a sad
day, which offers only a sliver of hope for a better future."
MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) said, "This is
an important day for the rule of law and the efforts to wipe clean the
filth and corruption that Ehud Olmert infected top government officials
with. Olmert is a repeat offender who had, for decades, abused his power
to get rich, and he repeatedly got away with it while unfortunately
making his way to the highest office in the land.
"It pains me that such a corrupt individual
ruled our lives, but today, the Israeli public can be proud that despite
the money and power used to influence law enforcement, we are a clean
democracy."
The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel also
commented on the verdict: "The breadth of fraud, bribery and corruption
of the public sector that have been revealed by this case sets a new
record in an era in which corrupt leeches have turned the state and the
executive authority into a tool made to yield them personal profits at
the public's expense. A day in which a former prime minister is
convicted is an important day for the fight against corruption. Every
public servant should learn a lesson from this before trying to abuse
the public's assets."
Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Gal-On said in a
statement, "Judge Rozen did not fall for the media spins by Olmert and
his cronies and has found the most corrupt and corruptive politician in
the history of this country guilty of accepting bribes. Judge Rozen has
peeled away this web of lies and had determined that 'Olmert has lied to
the court.'
"This conviction bolsters the rule of law and signals to
all the associates, spin doctors and public relations people that even
political leaders are not above the law," she said. "It signals to
public officials who lie, cheat and take bribes that corrupt leaders
taint not only their own image but that of politics as a whole, and I
welcome the court's coming to its defense."
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