Plea bargain for former TA deputy mayor in corruption case linked to Likud MK Bitan

Arnon Giladi, a former deputy mayor of Tel Aviv and city councilman, has agreed to a plea bargain that would see him spend eight months in prison, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a major corruption case involving Likud MK David Bitan. .

Giladi will admit to two counts of breach of trust, while charges of bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice will be dropped. He would also be convicted of moral turpitude for which he would have to resign from any public office and would not be able to hold office again for a number of years.

The Likud party member was also given an additional suspended sentence and a fine of NIS 35,000 ($10,000).

According to the updated chargesheet, Giladi, as a member of the Tel Aviv City Council who served on the local planning committee, took advantage of his position in the municipality in 2011 and 2015-2017 to settle three real estate issues. Projects within city limits.

Prosecutors say he acted at the request of Bitton and the state’s witness that Bitton was trying to help. Giladi was also found to be in a serious conflict of interest within the Likud party due to similar interests with Biton.

According to prosecutors, in late 2017, Giladi received NIS 30,000 from three different real estate developers. The money was for various events and activities to cultivate Giladi’s public image and promote his candidacy for the local authority elections in 2018. In return, he assisted the developers with planning processes in the municipality.

Giladi’s defense team said in a statement that they had worked to have the bribery charge dropped which “paved the way for a plea settlement, in which Giladi took responsibility for certain lapses in his conduct, which in the circumstances amounted to mild violations.” The amount was Rs. Confidence.”

Likud MK David Bitan arrives at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv on Nov. 27, 2022. (Tomer Newberg/Flash90)

Bitan is the prime suspect in the case and was indicted on several corruption charges last year after not seeking parliamentary immunity.

He was indicted in August on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, as well as money laundering and tax crimes, over allegations he pocketed some NIS 715,000 ($220,000) in bribes while serving in public office.

Biton is accused of accepting bribes from his business associate Moshe Yosef and businessman Dror Glazer, both of whom served as deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion, Israel’s fourth largest city, and later as a member of the Knesset. Both the youths have testified against him.

The allegations date back to when Biton – a former coalition whip and presumed confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – was Rishon Lezion’s deputy mayor before being elected to the Knesset in 2013, but also includes his tenure as M.K.

Dov Zur, the then mayor of Rishon LeZion, is also a suspect in alleged bribery that took place between 2011 and 2017.

In September, a woman sentenced Seven and a half months’ community service for bribing Bitton in 2014.

In March, former top Israeli soccer player Haim Rivivo was pleaded guilty in a plea bargain for his part in an alleged real estate bribery scheme.

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