Last update - 00:00 19/02/2007
AG orders criminal probe into top police officers Levy, Gilboa
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ordered the Police Investigations Department (PID) on Monday to launch a criminal investigation into Police Commander Yoram Levy and Police Superintendent Reuven Gilboa in light of the recent release of the Zeiler Committee report.
The report, which was publicized Sunday, found that Levy and Gilboa may have been involved in what it terms the "battery affair" - which involved police brokering payment to underworld figures for the return of gas-mask batteries stolen from an Israel Defense Forces warehouse. The report says that in 1998, when the affair broke, Levy and Gilboa "testified untruths, tried to disguise incriminating facts, and made sure that (reputed crime boss) Oded Parinyan would receive hundreds of thousands of shekels - all without documenting the deal or reporting it to anyone."
In response, Levy and Gilboa's attorney said his clients welcome the investigation. The attorney said Levy and Gilboa had been questioned by the PID in the past and would cooperate fully with the investigation.
Mazuz informed Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann of his decision Monday afternoon, during the first discussion between the two over the findings published in the Zeiler report. Among other things, the Zeiler report called for the dismissal of top Police officials, including Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi, who subsequently resigned.
Friedmann said during his meeting with Mazuz that he opposes paying ransom for stolen property, referring to the battery affair. The two agreed that Mazuz would immediately put together a team to implement the Zeiler report recommendations regarding PID and the State Prosecutor's Office. In addition, the two agreed, recommendations that are easily implemented would be put into effect immediately.
The Zeiler committee, which was established in order to investigate police failures in the handling of a complex murder case involving the Parinyan family, recommended on Sunday that Levy and Gilboa be dismissed from the police, and possibly demoted to lower ranks.