Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni is likely to be indicted for bribery, fraud and money laundering, among other charges, as prosecutors conclude several months of investigations into alleged financial and personal improprieties.
The indictment also names his brother.
Shimoni is also expected to be charged with carrying on two illicit relationships with subordinates working in the municipality. He was initially investigated for alleged sexual assault related to the relationship, but these charges were dropped from the expected indictments.
Asher Ohayon, Shimoni’s attorney, says “Itamar is happy he succeeded in convincing the state prosecution, even at this early stage, that there was nothing wrong in his behavior in anything having to do with the alleged sexual crimes.
“But his happiness is incomplete,” Ohayon adds. “We hope to make it complete in the [preliminary] hearing process, where, with God’s help, we will succeed in convincing the prosecution about the other allegations. If we fail, we believe we will succeed in convincing the court [of his innocence].”
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 15, 2016
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