Hirchson won't say how cash was used

Avraham Hirchson was cross-examined yesterday on the charges of of embezzlement from the National Workers Organization, which he used to chair.

Time and again the prosecutor asked the former finance minister about lies he told investigators, even though Hirchson had already admitted to lies in his response to the indictment.

"I spoke about this at length. I explained my emotional condition following the press hullabaloo. Before I even entered the investigation room I was told there was sufficient evidence against me. I saw in the press that Ovadia Cohen (former NWO chief financial officer, who has already been convicted in the affair) was going to frame me. So I decilned to discuss the issue of the cash," Hirchson said.

The prosecutor accused Hirchson of concocting the version he told police investigators after consulting with his former lawyer. Hirchson has admitted that he met his lawyer beforehand, but said he had been overwhelmed during the questioning, and that there had been no prior preparation.

"I wouldn't advise anyone to be finance minister one day, and then be slaughtered by the press day in and day out," Hirchson said, describing his state of mind.

The prosecution argues that Hirchson prepared a line of defense before his investigation, according to which he had received money from his son Ofer Hirchson and another family member. Large sums of money were transferred from their accounts to his own in order to shore up the story. Furthermore, Ofer Hirchson prepared a special notebook solely to show that he, and not the NWO, was the source of the funds, the prosecution claims.

Yesterday, Hirchson claimed he did not recall these details. "I did not prepare that notebook, I didn't give it to the police. I found out after the fact that Ofer had submitted it to the police," he added.

Judge Bracha Ofir-Tom asked Hirchson why his son Ofer had given him hundreds of thousands of shekels. Hirchson said this was because he was going through a tough period, but declined to elaborate for reasons of privacy.

For at least a half an hour, the prosecution dwelt on what happened to the monthly NIS 25,000 in cash Hirchson received. Hirchson's response was vague. "I used some of the cash, and deposited some. A person who deposits money in the bank is not stealing," he said.

On the other hand, Hirchson was careful yesterday, as he was in earlier testimony, to express contrition, to admit that he received the money in an unreasonable fashion, and to say he regretted it.

"I've come to purge myself before the court," he declared.

The judge questioned how he had squandered more than a million shekels over the space of a few years.

"If you divide it up by months, the picture looks different. There are special expenses. It's not a huge amount," Hirchson replied, adding, "I didn't live a life of luxury."

The prosecutor jumped on that comment, whipping out printouts of Hirchson's credit card bills and reading out dates and amounts.

The prosecution showed that the cash Hirchson had received came on top of the sums from his son Ofer. The prosecutor showed that in May 2002, Hirchson spent NIS 42,000 on his credit card, and that his expenses totaled NIS 240,000 between May and August, 2002.

"He bought jewelry, electrical appliances for himself, and traveled overseas," the prosecutor said.

"I didn't say I was poor," Hirchson replied. "I said that a large part of my expenses are for things I prefer not to discuss."