Cops arrest 14 including deputy mayor and local mob boss in corruption case

Police this morning arrested 14 suspects, among them a deputy mayor in northern Israel and a local mob boss, on suspicion of bribery and corruption.

The deputy mayor serves in the Nahariya municipality, according to Hebrew outlets.

The suspects are believed to have participated in a bribery ring that allowed criminals to take control of key decision-making roles in the municipality, enabling them to box out rival contractors from bidding processes, police say. The suspected criminals allegedly worked to push competitors out of municipal tenders while officials acted to ensure they won the contracts, providing them with insider information.

According to police, the suspected criminals reaped millions of shekels in profits due to their illicit influence over the city’s Tenders Committee and Planning and Building Committee.

The suspects have not yet been named by police, but the Nahariya municipality has put out an announcement stating that Mayor Ronen Marelly has instructed “all officials and public employees to cooperate with investigation officials and law enforcement.”

Investigators in the Lahav 433 major crimes and Tax Authority officials had been conducting a covert investigation into the suspicions for over a year, which is made public today with the wave of arrests.

The 14 arrested suspects will be brought to the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court, where police will request their detention be extended. Four additional suspects were detained for questioning but not taken into police custody. Officers also seized luxury cars, real estate and a yacht worth millions of shekels, police add.