Rabbi jailed for corruption wins early release due to ill health
Cancer-struck celebrity cleric Pinto to go free 3 months early; says he wants to repent for corruption that landed him in prison
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
A parole board decided Monday to grant early release to celebrity rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, who is suffering from cancer, cutting short a year-long prison sentence for bribing a police officer by three months.
Pinto will be freed from Nitzan Prison in the central Israeli city of Ramle on Sunday. The parole board stressed that Pinto’s ill-health was the primary reason for his early release.
According to a reporter for Israel Radio, Pinto told the committee that he feels “like a criminal” and wants to “repent” for his crimes. “I’m not a rabbi anymore,” he reportedly said. “I exploited my position… I feel regret and am ashamed at myself.”
A month before starting his sentence in February, Pinto tried — and failed — to win leniency on account of his health.
The rabbi, who enjoys an international following among celebrities and business leaders, as well as high-powered contacts in the Israeli government and elsewhere, was sentenced to time in prison as well as a NIS 1-million ($260,000) fine for bribing a senior police officer who subsequently retired from the force.
Under his plea bargain, Pinto agreed to testify against Menashe Arviv, the former head of the police anti-corruption unit, who is suspected of receiving benefits from businessmen associated with the rabbi.
Pinto’s lawyers alleged to the State Attorney’s Office that Arviv had accepted favors illegally and provided secret information in return. Arviv was last questioned by police in September. Charges have not been brought against him.
The scandal prompted Arviv to take an extended vacation, and then, in February, to resign after 36 years of service in the police, though he maintained his innocence.
The case was linked to the suicide in July of police Brig. Gen. Ephraim Bracha, days after an Israeli news website accused him of accepting bribes from Pinto.
Hours after his death, the Justice Ministry cleared Bracha of any wrongdoing.
Since 2011, Pinto, 42, who heads several charity organizations and Torah study institutions in the coastal city of Ashdod and in the US, has been the subject of a number of ongoing investigations, both by Israeli police and the FBI.
The rabbi — whose followers have included Jay Schottenstein, chairman of the American Eagle Outfitters clothing company, and Israeli real estate mogul Jacky Ben-Zaken — was suspected of embezzlement of funds from an organization he oversaw. According to FBI suspicions, he was also the target of a blackmail attempt.
In April 2014, federal prosecutors brought charges against Republican US Congressman Michael Grimm for receiving large contributions from followers of Pinto.
Grimm has acknowledged receiving $250,000-$300,000 in contributions from followers of the rabbi.
