Last update - 00:00 16/02/2007
Zeiler commission to slam police chief, recommend dismissals
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
The Zeiler Commission report into police failures surrounding the reputed Parinyan crime family, due on Sunday, recommends the dismissal of officers and sharply criticizes the current police chief, Moshe Karadi.
Former police chief Shlomo Aharonishki, State Prosecutor Eran Shendar and Police Investigations Department (PID) head Herzl Sbiro will also be criticized for their conduct.
The commission, set up in December 2005 to investigate failures by the police and state prosecution in the case of the Parinyans and the policeman-turned-hit man Tzahi Ben-Or, has prepared a 250-page report. It will be delivered to the attorneys of 13 officials to whom the commission issued warning letters, about an hour before it is made available to the public.
The Zeiler Commission, a government-appointed panel, opted to operate like a public commission of inquiry, and thus included in its report a chapter of recommendations as well as conclusions regarding the conduct of specific officers.
The main message of the report is that the murder of suspected mobster Pinhas Buhbut at Tel Hashomer hospital in 1999 was not "just another murder," but a very serious development: The circumstances of the murder and the murderer - Ben-Or, a uniformed police officer allegedly serving as a hired assassin for the Parinyans - pointed to the severity and unique nature of the case. Accordingly, the commission states that every one of the police officers and officials who did not recognize the unusual severity of the case, and the need to handle it in an uncompromising manner, failed and contributed to a professional blunder.
A source familiar with the work of the commission said on Thursday that "this is a very harsh report."
The report contains unequivocal recommendations to dismiss some of the officers involved, including the head of the southern district's investigative unit, Commander Yoram Levy.
The report neither recommends Karadi be dismissed, nor does it recommend his tenure be extended for another year. However, the report authors criticize his conduct as commander of the southern police district, as well as his earlier failures in dealing with the murder case. The report also raises questions regarding his decision to appoint Yoram Levy as head of the investigative unit.
The police and the Justice Ministry's PID had received information of links between Levy and criminal elements that involved favors and bribes.
However, there is no mention of any "political conspiracy," under which Karadi was appointed police chief because it served political interests.
Nine months ago, the commission issued warning letters to 13 officials in the police, the southern district attorney's office and the PID.
The commission has found evidence against most of those it warned. In spite of a final round of testimony, in which the individuals presented evidence to counter the commission's claims, the commission was not convinced they were blameless.
Three months ago, the commission informed Shendar that it may also criticize him for his conduct as PID head and for his failure to initiate a criminal investigation against Levy. Shendar and his successor, Sbiro, are both criticized in the report.
However, most of the conclusions are not directed against individuals, but list general reforms regarding how the police should function and handle criminal investigations.