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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to 8 months in prison and given a 100, 000 Shekel ($25, 000) fine this morning for fraud, breach of trust and aggravated fraud resulting from his conviction in what is known in Israel as the “Talansky Affair.” Both sides pledged to appeal the sentence.
Mr. Olmert had already been sentenced to six years in prison for his conviction on charges of corruption related to the Holly Land development in Jerusalem. The former Prime Minister is currently appealing his conviction in that case.
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All of the cases against him deal with charges which date back to events that took place before he became Israel’s Prime Minister.
Olmert had at first been acquitted of the charges in the Talansky case. But in Israel, where there are no juries and only bench trials, the prosecution is able to appeal acquittals.
The former PM had accepted a number of cash payments handed to him in envelopes from an American businessman and Orthodox rabbi Morris Talansky who co-founded the New Jerusalem Foundation with the then Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert. The first judge who heard the case ruled that the prosecution failed to prove any quid pro quo regarding the payments. In other words, it did not show that Olmert did anything in return for the money.
The second judge basically said that if it looks like a duck…
The judge has given Mr. Olmert 45 days to surrender himself for incarceration.
Olmert’s lawyers stated that, “The penalty imposed on Olmert only adds to the great suffering he has already incurred. This is a harsh sentence, and we intend to appeal against it.”
