The Israel Police has refused to share information from the
Rabbi Pinto investigation with the FBI, souring relations between the two
organizations, the New York Daily News reported on Saturday.
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, one of Israel's best-connected
rabbis, is suspected of bribing senior police officers in order to get
information about ongoing investigations against him. No charges have been laid
as yet.
The FBI has reportedly provided Israel Police with evidence
against Pinto, based on wire taps of his phone in the United States. His phone
was tapped in connection with a separate FBI investigation into the campaign
finances of Michael Grimm, a congressman from Staten Island, New York.
Grimm is suspected of campaign financing violations,
including encouraging illegal donations from U.S. followers of Pinto.
Now, the Daily News reports, Israeli is refusing to return
the favor by sharing material that the FBI wants for its Grimm probe.
The FBI has been investigating Grimm since 2010, when he was
elected to Congress. During the election campaign, Grimm received support from
Ofer Biton, who at the time was one of Pinto's top aides. Biton was later
accused of having embezzled millions of dollars from Pinto’s congregation.
Grimm and Biton allegedly accepted contributions from
wealthy individuals connected to 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 and 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.
Grimm is known as a staunch supporter of Israel and
reportedly has connections to senior Israeli politicians. He is a vocal
opponent of U.S. President Barack Obama.
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