State promises ‘no celebrity discount’ as Olmert seeks deal
Attorney for former PM, who is to start prison term next month, meets state prosecutor, aims to minimize jail time in series of cases
State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan met on Thursday with Eyal Rozovsky, a lawyer for former prime minister Ehud Olmert, reportedly to discuss a formula to finalize to the satisfaction of both sides a series of lawsuits against Olmert.
Nitzan on Thursday evening said he had no intention “of giving Olmert what is called a ‘celebrity discount’” nor of treating him more severely on account of his former high office.
Olmert was one of eight former officials and businessmen convicted in March 2014 in a real estate corruption case known as the Holyland affair that officials have characterized as the largest in Israel’s history. While it struck down the main bribery conviction for Olmert’s part in the Holyland scandal, the Supreme Court last month upheld a more minor bribery conviction in the case, reducing the former prime minister’s original sentence from six years to 18 months. He and others whose convictions were upheld in the case will begin serving their sentences on February 15.
Next week, Olmert, 70, is set to appeal his bribery conviction in the so-called Talansky affair, which earned him an eight-month prison sentence. Olmert was found guilty last year of accepting envelopes full of cash from American businessman and fundraiser Morris Talansky in exchange for political favors during his decade-long term as mayor of Jerusalem.
Rozovsky was likely seeking to reach an agreement with the state prosecution ahead of the appeals hearing in the Supreme Court that would see the Talansky sentence withdrawn, or at least that it run concurrently with the 18-month prison term in the Holyland affair, according to reports.
When he eventually enters his prison cell in Ward 10 of Ma’asiyahu Prison in Lod, it will mark an unhappy historic first: Israel’s first imprisoning of a former prime minister.
Other cases still involving Olmert involve the Rishon Tours double-billing affair, in which Olmert was cleared but could face further legal action, and possible obstruction of justice charges.
