L.A. :5 reputed members of Israeli crime family arraigned on drug, racketeering charges

Five people reputedly involved in one of Israel’s most powerful organized crime families appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday to face drug trafficking and racketeering charges.

Itzhak and Meir Abergil, along with three other defendants, pleaded not guilty to charges related to their alleged roles in a massive Los Angeles-based Ecstasy ring described in a 2008 indictment. They were extradited from Israel and, escorted by U.S. marshals, arrived in the U.S. late Wednesday, said Victor Sherman, the attorney for Itzhak Abergil.

The men will remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center while they await trial. No bonds were set for any of the defendants because they were seen as a flight risk with “limited ties to the community,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky.

Itzhak Abergil, the alleged boss of the Abergil crime family, appeared in street clothes and shackles for the hearing in the Edward R. Roybal federal courthouse. “I’m innocent,” he said when Zarefsky asked him to enter a plea. He had been laughing and yawning during the proceedings but was composed when addressing the judge.

Meir Abergil, Sasson Barashy, Moshe Malul and Israel Ozifa were also shackled and appeared before the judge wearing track suits. Each defendant required the assistance of a Hebrew translator.

Baroshy was the only defendant who did not retain a private attorney. He was appointed a federal public defender. “I understand the charges but I do not accept them,” he said to the judge. He also pleaded not guilty.

An attorney for the Abergil brothers flew in from Israel to assist with the proceedings, said Sherman, the attorney representing Itzhak Abergil.

Zarefsky assigned the case to U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder. No date has been set for the trial, which U.S. attorneys estimated would last about two months.

Sherman said he would be submitting an application to have the case reassigned to U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who has been hearing a related case for Hai Waknine, a reputed mobster who allegedly worked with the Abergil crime family.

If convicted, the men could face life in prison. They would serve their sentences in Israel under the U.S. extradition treaty.