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Last update - 10:09 30/07/2008 Police pressure suspect in Bat Yam shooting to incriminate crime boss By Jonathan Lis and Roni Singer-Heruti Tags: Yitzhak Abergil, crime  Police are trying to persuade the prime suspect in Monday's gangland shooting to incriminate Yitzhak Abergil, who heads the reputed crime ring that allegedly ordered the failed assassination, police sources said yesterday. The shooting resulted in the death of an innocent bystander who was killed in front of her two children. Police have arrested Ronen Ben-Adi, the prime suspect, and Shimon Sabah in the murder of Margarita Lautin, 31, who was killed while dining on the Bat Yam boardwalk with her husband and two children, aged 5 and 2. The assailants were apparently targeting Rami Amira, who is identified with the Abergil group and was sitting nearby, sharing a table with Moti Hassin and Simantov Hatayeb, who are also identified with the group. Amira sustained slight injuries in his cheek as a result of the attack. The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court yesterday extended by 10 days the remand of Ben-Adi, 39, and Sabah, 41, who have served time for property and drug crimes as well as offenses involving violence. So far, neither suspect has agreed to answer police questions. Since the assailants and the intended targets are all connected to the Abergil organization, police suspect the attempted assassination was an effort to resolve an internal dispute. Advertisement "The suspect in the shooting on the beach has a lot to lose," a police source said. "He realizes he can expect to go to jail for many years, a life sentence, after he was caught following his accidental shooting of Lautin. We guess he is now a very weak link in the chain. He's not a senior figure in the organization anyway, and he is concerned about long years in prison. We believe it's possible to persuade him to cooperate with the investigators so he can be treated more sympathetically and get a certain reduction of the sentence in exchange for Abergil's head." Police suspect Abergil was involved in planning the shooting. "An assassination mission of the kind in Bat Yam cannot be executed without the approval and knowledge of Abergil," a police source said yesterday. The source said police investigators have yet to break through Ben-Adi's reticence. "Despite the point of departure that Ben-Adi is now a weak link, there is no doubt that he is still loyal to the behavioral codes that characterize the crime organizations, and at this point, he is respectful of, and loyal to, those who sent him. The big question is whether the investigators will manage to break him at the end of the day. There's no doubt that the information he has could incriminate Abergil." "This is not a simple task," a police official said. "At this stage, it's too early to tell whether the investigators will succeed in infiltrating the organization and reaching its leader or will make do with solving the beach incident and filing an indictment only against those directly involved." Although undercover police investigators trailing Amira, Hassin and Sabah failed to prevent Lautin's death, police said their presence enabled the immediate capture of the assailants. "Despite the tragedy, this is a significant achievement for the police," a police source said. "In a rare move, the police officers managed to capture the shooters and their weapon, which almost never happens in other attempted assassinations between crime organizations. This means it will be relatively easy to charge those who were directly involved in the incident." Yohanan Danino, who heads the police investigations and intelligence unit, convened a committee of police and prosecution officials to discuss organized crime in Israel and the circumstances of the Bat Yam shooting. Danino also met with Police Commissioner David Cohen and other top police officials to discuss the case. "Margarita Lautin's death is an unfortunate tragedy," said Cohen, saying the shooting was an underworld assassination attempt. "The resolute activity of the police officers is what led to the capture of the two suspects, as well as their weapon. Their arrest is a result of the uncompromising and intense fight against organized crime in Israel," he said. "This is a significant battle in which the police are using all the tools at their disposal and taking major steps aimed at destroying the organizations and relieving them of the power that derives from their finances and the personalities [leading the groups]." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Internal fighting Human rights groups say torture is widespread in Palestinian lockups. Danger looms Pentagon chief Robert Gates warns: War with Iran would be 'disastrous.'

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