Netanya mayor arrested on suspicion of taking bribes
Police seek to extend detention of Miriam Feirberg, who was grilled under caution over alleged kickbacks from contractors
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The mayor of Netanya, Miriam Feirberg-Ikar, was arrested on Wednesday morning after an hours-long interrogation under caution on suspicion she had taken bribes, as police ramped up a probe of suspected high-level corruption in the city.
She was to be brought before a judge for a remand hearing to extend her arrest by 10 days.
The development came two days after her son, Tzafrir Feirberg, 42, was arrested in the case, along with three others.
Four additions suspects were arrested Wednesday, including a deputy mayor, two contractors, and another person said to be close to a senior municipal official, bringing the total number of people detained in connection with the suspicions to eight.
Officials in the coastal city and contractors are suspected of bribery, fraud, money laundering and tax offenses involving millions of shekels. Police suspect senior city officials and their associates worked to promote the interests of contractors and entrepreneurs in exchange for bribes and other benefits. Municipal officials allegedly did not report their conflicts of interest in dealing with the contractors.
On Tuesday, the identities of four suspects were cleared for publication. Tzafrir Feirberg, developer Avraham Tshuva, 70, attorney Avraham Gogig, 64, and architect Gabi Tetro, 66, were all arrested on Monday. They were remanded in custody on Tuesday by the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, which extended the younger Feirberg’s and Gogig’s detentions for a week, Tshuva’s for three days and Tetro’s for eight days.
The suspects’ homes and offices were searched and their bank accounts and assets have been frozen in preparation for possible seizures.
Officers suspect Tshuva bribed municipal officials, while Tzafrir Feirberg is suspected of “receiving bribes on behalf of others.”
Police are expected to request that the newly arrested suspects also be remanded in custody.
Netanya city hall said in a statement, released before the mayor was taken in for questioning, that “during the morning police arrived at the municipality and gathered documents. The municipality is cooperating and will fully cooperate with enforcement bodies, and municipal activities are continuing as usual.”
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