Last update - 00:00 04/06/2007
2 suspects indicted for attempted murder of reputed mob boss
By Nir Hasson Haaretz Correspondent
Amir Senkar and Eitan Grala Were indicted Monday for the attempted murder of reputed mob boss Nissim Alperon.
The third suspect in the alleged assassination plot, Avishai Belkar, was shot and killed while the three were being arrested by the police.
The motive for the murder attempt, according to the indictment submitted to the Tel Aviv District Court Monday, is an ongoing feud between the Alperon family and the Abergil family over control of the plastic bottle recycling enterprise in central Israel. Prior to the murder attempt, in January, a violent scuffle broke out between members of the rival families in Ramat Gan, in which Itzik Abergil and his associate Motti Hasin were injured.
According to the indictment, the Abergil family hired the three men to assassinate Alperon. On May 20, they spotted their intended victim sitting in a coffee shop on Anne Frank Street in Ramat Gan. However, the police officers who had been monitoring their activity decided to arrest them before they reached their destination.
Belkar attempted to escape while shooting at the direction of the policemen. One of the officers was moderately hurt, and his colleague returned fire, killing Belkar. The remaining suspects tried to escape by car forcing an officer to jump out of the way and avoid being hit by the car. Another policeman shot at the car's tires, and eventually the getaway vehicle crashed into a police car trying to block its route and the suspects were caught.
The two men are charged with conspiring to commit a crime and two counts of aggravated assault.