Cop who investigated Netanyahu suspected of passing tips to mafia for kickbacks

A retired police detective and witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s graft trial was named on Sunday as one of several officers suspected by investigators of passing information to a powerful crime family.

Tzachi Havkin, a former Lahav 433 detective, had been one of the police officers investigating cases 2000 and 4000, both involving Netanyahu’s alleged promises of favors to media magnates in return for positive coverage, Hebrew media outlets reported.

Havkin later resigned from his post and gave testimony in the trial, alleging police misconduct in the case.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing in all his cases and claims all the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.

The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday lifted a gag order on Havkin’s name.

According to reports, Havkin was arrested alongside three other police officers in September on suspicion of aiding the Musli crime family in exchange for bribes.

Investigators in the Department of Internal Police Investigations reportedly believe Havkin provided the family with information about planned police actions against its members, as well as intelligence on the rival Jarushi crime family.

According to the Haaretz daily, the Justice Ministry agency suspects that the officers leaked confidential information to the family about an ongoing case against its kingpin, Yossi Musli, and informed it that prosecutors planned to recruit a state witness to testify against him.

All suspects admitted under interrogation that they had links to the crime family, particularly Musli’s no. 2 and money man, Yossi Horberg, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

Eran Zelinker and Dov Scherzer, attorneys for Havkin, defended their client as a “decorated, respected and beloved officer,” according to a statement quoted by Kan, and accused prosecutors of having opened the case just as he was about to take the stand for the defense in Netanyahu’s trial.

The case is separate from a police corruption investigation into the head of Lahav 433, Deputy Commissioner Manny Binyamin, who is suspected of maintaining ties with a former mayor of Nazareth while the ex-local politician was under investigation over alleged attempts by the Bakri crime family to take financial control of the municipality.