Ramat Gan mayor to be indicted for bribery
Prosecution to accuse Israel Singer of offering appointments in the municipality to individuals who agreed to campaign for him
The State Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that it intends to indict Ramat Gan Mayor Israel Singer for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Though Singer has nearly completed his first term as mayor, allegations of corruption have plagued his tenure from the start.
The offenses attributed to Singer relate to his conduct during the 2013 mayoral election campaign, when he allegedly promised a number of activists and service providers appointments to various positions in the Ramat Gan municipality in exchange for their campaigning on his behalf.
The announcement came four months after the police recommended that Singer be indicted.
Responding to the disclosure, the Ramat Gan municipality said it “welcomes the opportunity to finally present the facts” that will prove the mayor’s innocence.
Singer replaced former mayor Zvi Bar, who himself was convicted of bribery charges in 2015.
The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Bar to five and a half years in prison after he was convicted of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for promoting a number of real estate projects during his term in office.
Bar, 82, who served as the mayor of Ramat Gan for nearly 25 years, was also convicted on charges of breach of trust and money laundering.
The Times of Israel Community.