Former Ramat Gan mayor convicted of taking bribes

Former Ramat Gan mayor Zvi Bar was convicted Thursday 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, who served as the mayor of Ramat Gan for nearly 25 years, was also convicted, in Tel Aviv District Court, of charges of breach of trust and money laundering.

All the offenses took place between 2003 and 2008, when Bar also served as a director on local and provincial planning agencies.

Two years ago, the High Court of Justice ruled that Bar would not be allowed to run for reelection in the city in light of the charges brought against him. “We believe that publicly speaking, [Bar] is not an acceptable candidate for the position,” stated the court’s then president Asher Grunis.

Former Likud MK Carmel Shama-HaCohen, who was the leader of the opposition to Bar in the Ramat Gan city council and had testified against the former mayor, said he hoped the conviction would help deter public officials from engaging in criminal activity.

“I had no doubt that justice would come to light,” Shama-Hacohen said following the court verdict, according to the Ynet news site. “But it’s still a sad day.

“It is sad that this is what happened for more than 20 years in a large and developed city in Israel, and no lesson has been learned… the disease has not been addressed,” he added, alleging widespread corruption among Israeli municipal authorities.