Court upholds arrest of former Jerusalem mayor Lupolianski
Police: Suspicions against Olmert in Holyland case well-foundedl ex-PM allegedly took NIS 3.5 million in bribes.
By Tomer Zarchin Tags: Ehud Olmert Israel newsThe Petah Tikva District Court on Friday rejected an appeal submitted by former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, requesting to abort his five-day remand for alleged involvement in the Holyland case.
The court upheld Lupolianski's detention on the grounds that the former mayor could try to disrupt the police investigation once out of custody.
The Rishon Letzion Magistrate's Court on Thursday lifted its gag order on the identity of the 'senior official' suspected of taking bribes in the Holyland case, revealing the suspect to be none other than former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993-2003 and is already standing trial in three unrelated corruption cases.
In the new case, Olmert is suspected of taking at least NIS 3.5 million in bribes in exchange for furthering development of the Holyland luxury housing project in Jerusalem.
He will soon be questioned by the police in this case, which is being termed the biggest corruption scandal in the state's history. Police say the suspicions against him are grave and well-founded.
Olmert is suspected of having taken bribes both as mayor of Jerusalem and as industry, trade and labor minister, a post he held from 2003-2006. As industry minister, he presided over both the Israel Lands Administration and the Small Business Administration.
Police suspect that Olmert used his position as mayor in the 1990s to get municipal officials, both elected and appointed, to approve the Holyland project in the format requested by the entrepreneur, businessman Hillel Charney. Among other things, Olmert allegedly helped to secure the project's approval by the local planning and building committee and to remove various other bureaucratic obstacles.
Charney allegedly continued bribing Olmert after the latter moved from the mayor's office to the Industry Ministry. In exchange, police suspect, Olmert, in his role as head of the ILA, got senior ILA officials to remove hindrances from the path of another Charney real estate project - the Tzuk Manara project in the Galilee Panhandle.
In addition to Charney, Olmert is also suspected of taking indirect bribes from another businessman, Avigdor Kelner, who is currently under arrest. In exchange, Olmert allegedly used his role as head of the ILA to help Kelner advance plans to build a residential housing project near the former Hiriya dump in central Israel.
Attorney Uri Messer, a close friend of Olmert's, allegedly served as the main conduit for the bribes, with Olmert's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken, serving as a secondary conduit.
Police suspect that some of the bribe money Olmert allegedly received from Charney came in the form of financing for his legal expenses in an earlier case, involving the use of fake invoices in the Likud's 1988 election campaign. Olmert, who later switched to the Kadima party, was Likud's treasurer at the time, but was ultimately acquitted in that case.
The Holyland bribes were allegedly paid in the form of checks made out to "self" and endorsed by the payer, which enabled them to then be deposited in any bank without leaving a money trail. Police suspect that the checks were usually given to Messer, ostensibly for "legal services," and that most of the money was then transferred to Olmert, with Messer retaining a small portion for himself.
A source who has seen some of the evidence in the case said it appears to be solid and will requiring convincing explanations from Olmert. In contrast to the case of the cash-filled envelopes Olmert is currently on trial for (allegedly receiving the envelopes from American Jewish businessman Morris Talansky) this one is not based on one witness' potentially unreliable memory, but on "real material, on documents and documentation," the source said.
The source added: "Material of the kind the police and prosecution may not have managed to obtain in the Talansky case are present in abundance in this case."
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Former PM Ehud Olmert |
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thE MONEY MUST BE SPENT ON MASS CONSTUCTION OF NUCLEAR SHELTERS AND THERMONUCLEAR AND TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONRY .
If these charges are proven then the planning permissions would be invalid and the bulldozers can be sent into the Holyland development.
Why is Lupolianski Siting in jail over Shabbat while Kam is only under house arrest and Olmert hasn't been charged yet?
According to NGO Transparency International, Israel is the 32nd least corrupt country, New Zealand being the first and Somalia the last. ISrael is 32nd out of 180, thats pretty good. UK is 17, thats embarrassing , esp to be below ireland ,canada, hong kong, nz, australia, all your colonies. In many other countries, the judge that ordered an arrest of a top official would prob be assassinated, just look at russia. The Holyland Scheme, contrary to your belief, actually shows that Israelis are deeply concerned about political corruption and are ready to prosecute even their top leaders. I think Menachem Mazuz has shown that. you're not thinking this through clearly
The israelis make so many rules so and beaurocracy so no one one is able to live without breaking the law. The whole state unfortunately in some ways is built on corruption. So the police only pursue someone for breaking the law if it is politically expedient.
Double standards for 2 former mayors. One Haredi and the other secular. Do I smell a rat?
to see a Politician earning a living by influencing others by using his position. Happens everywhere problem is in Israel corruption appears to be the norm rather than the exception. Didn't Netanyahu get done for corruption? And he is Prime Minister. So it appears Israelis don't mind their politicians being corrupt.
What is especially enraging is the way simple citizens of Jerusalem were treated when they were trying to get some real information (not commercial) about this incredibly fishy project. Let me stress this again: back then everyone in his/her right sane mind in Jerusalem understood by him/herself that the whole thing could not be anything but the fruit of corruption. Beyond the (absolutely necessary) questions of who did it, the articles on the whole affair just uncover the obvious. The same observation goes about the Mamilla project. What has become of Jerusalem ? Such a shame. The arrogance of the politicians knows no bound. For them, there's never been a problem: no unemployment, the doors between civil administration and juicy commercial projects are always wide open. For the rest of us...
The Holyland project, that ugly eyesore desecrating Jerusalem's once beautiful horizon now stands as a vivid symbol to corruption and greed. It will do so untill it is removed. But I don't see that happening soon, just as there is little hope that such corruption in the hall's of Israel's Elite will come to an end without the true interests of Israel's citizens being heeded by the politicians.
can anyone tell me of any Israeli official who has not been or is not being or will not be investigated for corruption... comeon, there must be someone out here that is honest in Israel... or isnt there???
He looks crook.
Police: Suspicions against Olmert grave and well-founded!!! You're not tired to tell us this year after year? Maybe it will be easyer for the police to try to catch Olmert speeding with his car with their uncalibrated instruments? "A source" will be able to informe us that ther are grave suspicions that Olmert also drive under influence, even before the event! Maybe time is come to bring to justice those "sources" and find their real motivations! It will better serve the public interest!
The bribe-king Olmert surely had the guts. But,police should suspect the possibility of Olmert replacing another bribe-king.
Olmert should be sentenced to prison for the rest of his life without any cigars or other luxuries. Let him suffer. We, the residents of Jerusalem will be suffering every time we pass that monster on the hill. This would never have happened under Teddy Kollek.
The man is a crook...anyone who doesn't know this by now hasn't been paying attention.