Last update - 00:00 14/11/2007
Prosecution to probe affair implicating prosecutor-designate Lador
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
The State Prosecutor's Office has opened an internal examination into the actions of the Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office, which was deemed negligent in a court ruling that singled out Moshe Lador, who was announced Tuesday night as the state prosecutor-designate.
In a ruling on a 2003 lawsuit handed down two months ago, the Jerusalem District Labor Court said that a deposition submitted by Lador was false, and cited "extreme negligence," "impotence" and "numerous failures" on the part of the Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office, under Lador's leadership between 2001 and 2003.
The internal probe, ordered by outgoing State Prosecutor Eran Shendar roughly one month ago, will deal only with the activities of the prosecution, and not with Lador's role in the affair. The examination is expected to come to an end before Lador takes office.
"The issues attributed to Mr. Lador have to do with an office mishap, albeit a difficult one," said a statement issued by the Justice Ministry. "This is not a conscious deception of the court on the part of Mr. Lador, whose integrity has not been doubted at any stage, and the court did not present findings that harm his integrity or credibility."
In Lador's deposition, submitted in September 2003, he claimed not to know about events described in a lawsuit submitted by Shlomo Brubander, a former Infrastructure Ministry official, at the time of their occurrence. He said he learned of the events only after speaking to High Court officials shortly before the deposition. The labor court rejected the explanation.
The Justice Ministry also expressed reservations regarding reports on the affair, first exposed by Haaretz, which it said are "trying to unjustifiably blemish Mr. Lador."
The lawsuit was filed against the state by Brubander, who had worked for the ministry between 1996 and 2001, suing the state for salary and benefits he claimed were owed him. The court ruled in Brubander's favor after the prosecutor's office failed to respond, but the prosecution did not pay up as ordered.
When Brubander appealed to the High Court of Justice, in 2003, the prosecutor's office asked to have the ruling in the case overturned due to emotional and physical issues faced by the prosecutor who had dealt with it.
The labor court ruled that Lador's statements in the deposition, in which he denied knowledge of the events in Brubander's suit, were false, and Lador countered by explaining that although he had signed the verdicts, the district prosecutor cannot examine every document that passes through the office.
Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, who met with Lador on Wednesday for over an hour, decided to bring Lador's appointment up for government approval in roughly ten days, instead of in the upcoming meeting.
The search committee responsible for choosing a new state prosecutor voted four to one in favor of Lador's appointment.
Sources from the Justice Ministry also said that the two discussed Lador's plans and his perception of the State Prosecutor's role. At the end of the meeting, Friedmann announced he would adopt the recommendation of the committee and recommend the government approve Lador's appointment.