Suspicion: Investigator No. 1 received bribes from Rabbi Pinto

Affair that shook the Israeli police revealed: Today (Thursday) Police Investigations Department (PID) has announced that it checks whereby suspected senior police enjoyed the benefits received over the years from Rabbi Yeshayahu Pinto.

The test focuses on the perpendicular Menashe Arbib, appointed head of the Lahav 433, which is responsible for most of the major national investigation units.

Commander Ephraim, whose name is tied to the affair, was cleared of the suspicions against him.

As part of the affair claims were made by the FBI of the United States (FBI) that the senior Israeli officials disrupted the American investigation.
From Internal Affairs said that "recently opened to the PID probe State Attorney's case concerning Menashe Arbib. Test following the information provided was opened a few weeks ago at the Attorney General and the State Prosecutor, who attributes to either the officer or his alleged receipt of benefits to people familiar with Rabbi Pinto. Currently Arbib's case stands unexplored. Essence of suspicion about the benefits and the details banned from publication at this time, according to the court decision. "

Due to the affair, Arbib met last night with the police commissioner and was asked to go on vacation.

Police Commissioner accepted the request of Arbib and off the head of investigations and intelligence, Major General Manny Yitzhaki, commander of Lahav 433 in addition to the role. Commissioner responded: "Well it would be competent if we allowed the authorities to maximize the operation before we decide a man's fate. As we have been shown in the past, the police does not compromise on values and principles, however, keep in mind that this is early in the test and the presumption of innocence is also a police officer" .

Arbib said after the meeting that "this is a false accusation and damage to my reputation and I believe that the test be carried out quickly and efficiently and at the end when the truth will completely clean my name."

How the affair began

The story began on a background investigation for acts of fraud, at Chazon Yeshayahu, Pinto -related institutions, Bracha as the head of the Lahav unit 433 which stands Menashe Arbib, were his followers and would come to the home of the Rabbi.

Summer of 2012, Bracha, at that time head of investigations at the national headquarters, turned to his commander General Yoav Segalovitch, and said that Rabbi Pinto offered him money in exchange for information about the investigation against him, and Segalovitch ordered Bracha to receive the bribe and record it.

Indeed, the wife of Rabbi Pinto met with the wife of Bracha, the money was offered to her, but she refused to accept the money.

But in the investigation Rabbi Pinto said that he used to transfer funds to Bracha and so too to other officers as aid. But his explanations were not accepted and it was decided to indict him, pending a hearing in respect of bribery.

But at a hearing at the offices of the Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's lawyers who presented Pinto, attorneys Eli Zohar and Roy Blecher, new information emerged on police officials in exchange for shelving the indictment.

Due to new information, arraignment was delayed and is now validated. The information includes the suspicion of Arbib, who previously was the U.S. envoy police; Pinto got good scam during his stay there. Arbib has denied the allegations and said to his immediate environment: "It never happened; people's gossip is due to envy."

It was also underlined by the PID that "further information about publications of Pinto as the investigation against him was dropped - then the publications on this subject are incorrect. Beyond that, we do not intend at this stage to refer to the case of Pinto."

Pinto also testified to the Americans that he gave money to Bracha a year before the bribery scandal exploded, but Bracha was cleared of suspicion of accepting bribes.

What happened in the U.S.?

What happened in the U.S.? The additional information provided by Rabbi Pinto associated with investigating the FBI about Republican Congressman Michael Grimm.

Pinto complained that Grimm tried to blackmail him financially, when the FBI opened an investigation into the matter, former senior minister and police officers tried to obstruct the investigation. According to the FBI blackening of Rabbi is designed to interfere with this investigation,

However Grimm was also a suspect earlier in respect of illegal donations to his campaign in 2010, on his men's side and Rabbi Pinto is required to testify against him and defined "to secure". The agreement between the FBI and the Rabbi, documented all actions as are connections with senior police officers who received the benefit.

One evidence documented a religious public figure that is close to a senior police approached the rabbi and suggested that in exchange for money will close the investigation against him.

Rabbi's lawyers, attorneys Eli Zohar, Roy Blecher, Moshe Mazor and Yaron Lipshes, said in response: There are matters better left unsaid. This is one of them. We cannot respond to details published in the media. We must allow enforcement authorities to do their work. We assume that the picture will become clearer in the coming days.

MK Miri Regev: allow investigators to exhaust the investigation
Interior Committee chairman, Miri Regev, referred this morning to the allegations affair against senior officers in a national investigation of the Israel Police.

"On the surface this is a most severe case. If corruption penetrated into the Holy of Holies, then it threatens the entire house. We must allow DIP investigators to exhaust investigative proceedings before we judge and attack the police. Next week, the Internal Affairs Committee will convene for an urgent hearing in the case".

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!