Ehud Olmert, Former Israeli Prime Minister, Indicted For Corruption

JERUSALEM -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted Thursday on new corruption charges for allegedly seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in a wide-ranging real estate scandal that dwarfs the other cases in which he's accused.

According to the indictment, millions of dollars illegally changed hands to promote a series of real estate projects, including a controversial housing development in Jerusalem that required a radical change in zoning laws and earned the developers tax breaks and other benefits.

Jerusalem residents have long suspected that the hulking Holyland housing development, built on a prominent hilltop, was tainted by corruption. Thursday's indictment against Olmert – who was the city's mayor when the project ballooned – cemented those doubts about his integrity.

He is also suspected of influence-peddling in another, smaller real estate deal included in the indictment, which charges a total of 13 government officials, developers and other businesspeople in three separate schemes.

All the alleged crimes took place while Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem and minister of industry and trade, positions he held before becoming prime minister in 2006. Olmert has denied all the charges.

The former Israeli leader is already standing trial on separate charges of accepting illicit funds from an American supporter and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad – also before he became prime minister.

He has denied those charges, too, and claims no wrongdoing during a three-decade political career dogged by suspicions of corruption but no convictions. The accusations, however, forced Olmert to resign after a three-year term as prime minister in 2009.

The Holyland case broke two years ago on the strength of a businessman involved in the project who turned state's witness.

The indictment accuses Olmert of seeking money, through a middleman, from Holyland developers to help out his brother, Yossi, who fled Israel because of financial problems. According to the indictment, Yossi Olmert received about $100,000.

Ehud Olmert is also accused of asking the middleman to help out city engineer Uri Sheetrit, who also had money woes. Sheetrit later dropped his opposition to the broad expansion of the Holyland complex, which burgeoned from a small development into a massive, high-rise project that sticks out from its low-rise neighbors. According to the indictment, Sheetrit received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.

The 87-page indictment also ensnares other powerful Israeli figures. Former Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, who succeeded Olmert, was charged in the Jerusalem real estate scandal. Danny Dankner, the former chairman of Israel's second-biggest bank, was charged with offering hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to a government official to rezone land for one of his businesses.

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Comments

[ProbStat]

11:10 PM on 01/08/2012

One interpretation that I've heard of the traditional Jewish stance of treating animals with dignity is that it is not so much for the animals' sake as to keep people from falling into the habit of having contempt, a habit that might spill over into dealings with other people.

And now perhaps the wisdom of this is becoming apparent: having fallen into the habit of treating Palestinians with contempt, Israelis are starting to be not-so-wonderful to each other as well.

[Matt12]

07:20 AM on 01/06/2012

This news post should have been a page one report. The President indicted for rape, the current PM has been investigated twice for corruption, but he got to lecture the US President and got to address Congress. How cool is that?

[oregon jack]

02:38 AM on 01/06/2012

It is unsurprising to see rampant corruption in a 6-decade culture of impunity. A criminal state will predictably produce criminals. It will be heartening to see Olmert in prison where he belongs, but it would be far more heartening to see him tried and convicted of his far greater crimes of mass murder during the 2006 attack on Lebanon and 2008-09 Operation Cast Lead. But the only crimes that count in Israel are those against their own countrymen.

[lior1s]

11:48 AM on 01/06/2012

Don’t forget crimes committed by your country of attacking Iraq 1993&2003 which killed over a million people plus the countless of innocents people in Afghanistan both countries which had nothing to do with 9/11..seems very easy to pass judgments on others does it

[lior1s]

11:52 AM on 01/06/2012

Your leaders should be in prison for war crimes against countries of Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Japan.

[squiems]

11:37 PM on 01/05/2012

Guess people who argue that israel is not a democracy and their leaders have no accountability can quiet themselves now.

I only wish american leaders had this kind of accountability.

[pinkibus]

11:24 PM on 01/05/2012

In 1943, current Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir wrote an article entitled "Terror" for the journal of the terrorist organization he headed (Lehi) in which he proposed to "dismiss all the 'phobia' and babble against terror with simple, obvious arguments." "Neither Jewish morality nor Jewish tradition can be used to disallow terror as a means of war," he wrote, and "We are very far from any moral hesitations when concerned with the national struggle." "First and foremost, terror is for us a part of the political war appropriate for the circumstances of today, and its task is a major one: it demonstrates in the clearest language, heard throughout the world including by our unfortunate brethren outside the gates of this country, our war against the occupier." As has been widely observed in Israel, the British occupation was far less repressive than Israel's rule in the occupied territories and faced a much more violent resistance.

My response to a denial to an earlier post.

[SaneUSA]

12:33 AM on 01/06/2012

If your going to copy and paste, at least give credit to the author.

[shergenius]

10:36 PM on 01/05/2012

The rest of them over there are just as bad if not worse .. They are all corrupt theives.

[lior1s]

11:54 AM on 01/06/2012

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

John 8:7

[shergenius]

06:18 PM on 01/06/2012

Oh that is funny a new testament verse for a jew .. That will go over like a cast lead balloon

[Gui Montag]

04:47 PM on 01/05/2012

"and the new PM presided over the subsequent assassinat­ion of the American president"

JOOOOOOOOOZ killed Kennedy!!!

Flagged.

[myopinion2]

04:56 PM on 01/05/2012

Was Oswald a Mossad agent. How about the 2d shooter on the grassy knoll. Will the luittle green men be Mossad agents.

[Gui Montag]

05:31 PM on 01/05/2012

Don't be ridiculous. Everyone knows that Elvis (who was a Mossad agent) killed JFK. Who was also a Mossad agent. It was an intra-Mossad civil war.

[MikeDu]

03:36 PM on 01/05/2012

This is a different top tier politician than the one who was convicted or rape? Yeh, that was Moshe Katsav.

[myopinion2]

04:56 PM on 01/05/2012

Oh so witty.

[erehwon2]

05:41 PM on 01/05/2012

I suppose Arab countries have a different method of justice. Either the leaders get away with their crimes entirely or they're raped and beaten before being summarily executed.

Gosh, that's so much better.

[50Yard]

01:05 PM on 01/05/2012

I know a man who the whole nation knows he cheated on his taxes, and he is the secretary of treasury of the US government.

You can bet your house and the life of your children that this man would be in jail in Israel.

[FACTISFACT]

01:04 PM on 01/05/2012

This corrupt criminal idiot was the closest friend of the criminal Bush the Ex Republican President conspired to destroy US. The Israel+AIPAC and the Israel controlled congressmen/Women of the Republican played a pivotal role to implement the plan by going to WAR. All these type of criminals are ruling the state of Israel. He should be hanged for betraying the citizen of Israel.

[erehwon2]

02:41 PM on 01/05/2012

Sorry. No death penalty in the civilized nation of Israel.

[FACTISFACT]

03:38 PM on 01/05/2012

In a criminally ruled country it is protection for the criminal. It because of that a world famous indicted assassin is the PM a US listed terrorist leader could become a FM and a genocide criminal could become a Defense Minister. deny these facts and then say Israel is a civilized nation. I will agree, first get ride of all the criminals from you political Parties of such reputations.

[capt ayhab]

03:05 PM on 01/05/2012

Not to mention: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/moshe-katsav-rape-charges_n_802579.html

[FACTISFACT]

03:44 PM on 01/05/2012

There was a mention probably it was to bitter for the Israeli's to bear the brunt.

[omobob]

12:40 PM on 01/05/2012

> Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted Thursday on new corruption charges for allegedly seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in a wide-ranging real estate scandal that dwarfs the other cases in which he's accused.

Headline should "Yet Another Israeli PM Indicted for Crimes"

[50Yard]

12:54 PM on 01/05/2012

"Headline should "Yet Another Israeli PM Indicted for Crimes"

In Israel nobody is above the law. In the Muslim world the tyrant of the moment IS the law. Comments like yours, is our insurance policy, and a guaranty that Israel forever will be superior to the Muslim world.

[omobob]

01:23 PM on 01/05/2012

> In Israel nobody is above the law.

In total agreement there. It just that so many Israeli PMs think that they are. cheers

[not2 good]

03:48 PM on 01/05/2012

In other words: My crook is better than your crook. What in the world makes Isreal superior to a Muslim nation because their crooks are better? I don't get it.

[myopinion2]

02:12 PM on 01/05/2012

Who was the other.

[capt ayhab]

03:06 PM on 01/05/2012

Does the name Moshe Katsav ring any bells?

[erehwon2]

01:04 PM on 01/05/2012

Yeah, with power and opportunity, all kinds of of people get tempted. Here's one compilation of the "most corrupt" members of Congress.

http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/mostcorrupt

Hmm. Don't see to many names of a certain "culture" there.

I suppose if you confine your search to one group, that's all you'll find.

[Gui Montag]

01:04 PM on 01/05/2012

What do those people have to do with Olmert?

[50Yard]

12:36 PM on 01/05/2012

As if we needed another example of why the Muslim world is hopeless. Instead of learning the value of the rule of law where no prime minister or a President is above the law, they prefer to indulge in momentary pleasure, while their own leaders are stashing tens of Billions of dollars, and keep the population near bottom by every measure of human development.

[martin2]

12:30 PM on 01/05/2012

We desperately need some Israeli prosecutors in America.