Top cop buried after suicide, as minister bemoans unanswered allegations

Thousands of people attended the funeral Monday for a senior police officer who took his own life a day earlier amid allegations of corruption.

Deputy Commissioner Ephraim Bracha, who headed the police’s fraud investigations unit, shot himself Sunday morning, days after an Israeli news website accused him of accepting bribes from popular rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, who was sentenced in May to a year in prison for bribery and corruption.

Hours after his death, the Justice Ministry cleared Bracha of any wrongdoing.

The funeral, in the central city of Modiin, was closed to the media. News reports said thousands of police officials, family and other mourners attended.

Responding to the suicide, which came hours before the Justice Ministry cleared Bracha’s name, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on Monday called on police to immediately respond to any allegations of wrongdoing against its officers.

“When statements are made against police officers, they must not allowed to stay hanging in the air, they must be addressed immediately,” he said according to a report in Ynet.

“In the same breath, police officers need to know that they have support. Camaraderie and friendship are your weapons in the face of external pressures,” Erdan added.

The news report said that the Police Internal Investigations Department was looking into claims that Bracha had given information about cases to suspects.

The claims against Bracha had apparently been made by Pinto, who ultimately accepted a plea bargain and was convicted of bribery, attempted bribery, and obstruction of justice.

Associates of Bracha said that he had recently been in a very negative emotional state due to the media reports and accusations of wrongdoing.

A senior police officer told the Walla news site that the force blamed the media for his death. “You killed him with the reports and the leaks from Rabbi Pinto,” the unnamed officer said. “Words kill.”

According to friends, Bracha had previously said that he would commit suicide if it were shown that he had taken a bribe from Pinto. One said the deputy commissioner had told him, “They want me to commit suicide, but I won’t give them the satisfaction.”

Bracha, a key figure in the complex bribery scandal, testified that Pinto had offered him a bribe in return for information about an investigation into a charity fund linked to the rabbi.

While Pinto insisted that Bracha had taken the money, the police officer claimed he had reported the incident rather than accept the bribe.

After pleading guilty as part of a plea bargain, Pinto was convicted in April of bribery, attempted bribery, and obstruction of justice.

Under the plea bargain, Pinto agreed to testify against Menashe Arviv, the former head of the police’s anti-corruption unit who is suspected of receiving benefits from businessmen associated with the rabbi. In exchange, Pinto, a kabbalist with a sizable and influential international following, was guaranteed a light jail sentence plus fines.

Hours after his death, the Justice Ministry cleared Bracha of any wrongdoing.

The 55-year-old Bracha was found in his vehicle near his home in Modiin, with a self-inflicted bullet wound. He is survived by a wife and four children.