Former Nazareth Illit mayor released from prison

The former mayor of Nazareth Illit was released from prison Tuesday morning after completing the majority of a six month sentence for bribery offenses committed while he headed the northern town’s city council.

Shimon Gapso was found guilty of bribery in 2015 for trying to force a councilman to step down by threatening to fire his wife from her municipal job. The Haifa District Court judge ruled that making continued employment dependent on the councilman’s resignation constituted a form of bribery.

He was initially given six months’ community service and a NIS 20,000 ($5,290) fine.

In March the Supreme Court not only rejected Gapso’s appeal but also accepted an request from the state prosecution that sought prison time for him, along with a finding that he was guilty of moral turpitude. Under Israeli law a conviction that carries with it moral turpitude triggers a ban from public office for seven years.

His sentence was reduced to three and a half months for good behavior.

First elected to the Nazareth Illit city council in 2002, Gapso’s political career was dogged by suspicions of bribery and corruption. He was removed from office by court order in March 2014 after being reelected in September 2013, but was arrested just a month after the elections on accusations of accepting a bribe, breach of trust, money laundering, violation of privacy and illegally accessing a computer.

At the time police alleged that Gapso had taken a bribe from a local businessman to keep a banquet hall open even though it did not have the proper permits, posted people’s personal information in public, and accessed the computers of other city officials to learn personal details about them.

The troubled mayor had already been removed from office once before by the High Court of Justice, a month before his reelection in 2013, due to ongoing corruption investigations.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.