Ramat Hasharon mayor gets community service in fraud case

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday sentenced Yitzhak Rochberger, the mayor of Ramat Hasharon north of Tel Aviv, to six months of community service, a suspended sentence of six months and a fine of NIS 40,000 ($10,300) on charges of fraud and breach of trust.

Rochberger’s conviction was also found to carry moral turpitude — a designation that bars him from serving in public office for the next seven years.

Rochberger was convicted in December on charges of falsifying records, fraud and breach of trust. According to the indictment, he committed the offenses while serving as director-general and chairman of the professional training fund for municipal employees. He was also charged with having obtained approximately NIS 120,000 ($30,600 at the time of his conviction) between 2003 and 2007 by submitting falsified invoices, and using those funds for personal purposes, including to purchase appliances for his home.

Judge Ido Droyan said that Rochberger received a relatively light sentence because of the flawed manner in which the investigative authorities acted in his case, the Globes news site reported. The police investigation against him began after a significant delay — roughly a year and a half after police received evidence against him. In the judge’s opinion, the long delay justified leniency in his sentencing, as did the fact that Rochberger confessed and returned the money he had taken.

Rochberger had suspended himself from office while the trial was in session.

Since he is barred from returning to office as a result of his conviction, Ramat Hasharon must now hold elections for a new mayor.