Corruption allegations reported earlier Thursday that have
shaken Israel’s police force, resulting in the resignation of a top police
official, are the result of an investigation by the FBI in the U.S.
The connection to an investigation that the FBI has been
carrying out into corruption allegations against the popular Rabbi Yoshiyahu
Pinto became clearer as a gag order on the case was lifted Thursday.
Congressman and illegal donations case
Rabbi Pinto is connected to a case the FBI has been
investigating since 2010, against Congressman Michael Grimm of New York. Grimm
is under investigation for alleged illegal donations to his 2010 elections
campaign.
During the campaign Grimm received support from Ofer Biton, who at
the time was one of the Rabbi Pinto's top aides. Biton was later accused of
having embezzled millions of dollars from Rabbi Pinto’s congregation.
Rabbi Pinto is one of Israel’s wealthiest - and among its
most influential - rabbis. He splits his time between Israel and Manhattan,
where he has a congregation.
Grimm and Biton allegedly accepted contributions from
wealthy individuals connected to Rabbi Pinto in violation of campaign law.
Among other things, they allegedly took large cash donations, and accepted
donations from foreigners without green cards.
Biton pleaded guilty to visa fraud in August 2013.
Grimm has rejected the allegations regarding his campaign
funding as false. However, last week there was a new development in the
years-old case: the FBI arrested Grimm’s former girlfriend Diana Durand on
charges of elections fraud relating to the campaign.
Rabbi turned witness
Rabbi Pinto has reportedly leveled his own charges against
Grimm, claiming that Grimm’s associates attempted to blackmail him if he did
not encourage his followers to donate to Grimm's campaign.
Rabbi Pinto turned witness in the FBI case. While there are
conflicting reports regarding what followed, all parties seem to agree that the
FBI case was complicated by a bribery case in Israel against Rabbi Pinto.
Around the time that Rabbi Pinto agreed to testify for the
FBI, he allegedly attempted to bribe a senior police officer in Israel, Ephraim
Bracha. Bracha reported the alleged bribe to his superiors immediately, and is
not facing charges in the incident.
Rabbi Pinto reportedly has stated that the FBI was aware of
the alleged bribery attempt, and that the “bribe” was in fact part of the FBI’s
surveillance. However, according to other sources, the allegations against
Rabbi Pinto has compromised the FBI investigation by tarnishing his image.
Corruption charges linked to pressure to drop the case?
Still other sources, quoted by Mako, accused Congressman
Grimm of involvement in the Israeli case, saying that Grimm is trying to use
his influence in Israel to hurt Rabbi Pinto, in order to undermine the
investigation into his own activities in America.
Grimm is known as a staunch supporter of Israel and has
connections to senior Israeli politicians. He is a vocal opponent of U.S.
President Barack Obama.
According to the report, a former Israeli minister who was
apparently speaking on Grimm’s behalf made an attempt to convince Rabbi Pinto
not to testify against Grimm.
The FBI surveillance of Rabbi Pinto over the charges
involving Grimm reportedly meant that American agents collected much of the
evidence that led to the latest corruption charges.
According to the
allegations, senior police officer Menashe Arbiv of the anti-corruption unit
was one of multiple senior police officers who took bribes from Rabbi Pinto in
exchange for information on other cases in which the rabbi was involved.
Arbiv, like Grimm and Rabbi Pinto, has denied any
wrongdoing. The investigation against Rabbi Pinto has been ongoing for at least
a year, but he has yet to be charged with anything.
No comments:
Post a Comment