Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

I don’t know if you could ever find a stranger conflict of interest in Israeli law and politics. Ehud Olmert’s former law partner and business associate, Uri Messer, is presently singing to Israeli police and the attorney general about his involvement in the funds Morris Talansky raised for Olmert. From what I’ve read, all funds collected were passed on to Messer who then appropriated them. That’s why Messer is such a crucial figure in the investigation.

Ynet and my blog reader Amir have noted that Messer is married to Davida Lachman-Messer, the deputy attorney general. I’ve never heard of a a chief witness in a bribery investigation being married to a senior officer in the investigating agency. Wow, is that a conflict if there ever was one! Here in the U.S. this would be a perfect opportunity to appoint a special counsel in order to remove the conflict from the AG’s office. Or else you’d have to completely quarantine the deputy AG from involvement with the case. And how could you?

I wonder how, or if Israeli law deals with such an issue. I’m hoping Shamai Leibowitz, a former Israeli lawyer and reader of this blog, can enlighten us on this.

Shamai has translated the relevant portions of Israeli penal law dealing with bribery charges:

Israeli Penal Code (1977):

Bribery Offenses:

290. (a) A public servant who receives a bribe in return for an action related to his work – is punishable by a [maximum] sentence of 7 years or 7 years and a fine of 10,000 Liras.

(b) In this section, “public servant” – including an employee of a corporation performing a public service.
…

293. In bribery offense, it is irrelevant –

(1) if it was money, or something with monetary value, or service or another benefit;

(2) if it was given for the commission or an omission of an action, delay of an action, expediting an action, slowing an action, giving preference or discrimination;

(3) if it was for a specific action or for general favoritism;

(4) if it was for an act by the receiver of the bribe or for the receiver’s influence on another person;

(5) if it was given by the giver of the bribe or by another; if it was given to the receiver or to another person on behalf of the receiver; if it was from the outset or in retrospect; or if the person benefiting from the bribe was the receiver of another person;

(6) if the receiver’s status was one of authority or service; if it was permanent or temporary or it was general or for a specific purpose; if it was for pay or without pay; if it was in volunteer work or fulfilling a legal duty;

(7) if it was received in order to stray from the obligations in fulfilling the receiver’s duties or if it was for the performance of an action that the receiver was obligated to perform according to law.

I’m a little unclear as to whether or not there’s a contradiction between sections 290 and 293 in that 290 requires “an action in return for” the bribe. While section 293 seems to say it doesn’t need to be in return for various types of actions. But other Israeli readers tell me that section 290 is more relevant and there doesn’t need to be a specific quid pro quo for a crime. However, the prosecution will have to prove that the money went directly into Olmert’s pocket rather than into his election campaign (as the statute of limitations would’ve run out on this crime). That’s why Messer is crucial to the case.

Morris Talansky, Olmert’s bag man (?), in Jerusalem Tuesday (Daniel Bar-On /Jini)

The end of Ehud Olmert’s prime ministership, if not his political career, is nigh. Today, the gag order was lifted on his bribery case and he told the nation that if indicted, he would resign. It seems almost impossible that Olmert will not be indicted (though it’s still a slim possibility). If so, it would likely mean the end of the career of a politician who had nine lives, if not more.

Haaretz reveals that Long Island Orthodox Jewish fundraiser, Morris Talansky, funneled “hundreds of thousands of dollars” into Olmert’s coffers in the 1990s while he was mayor of Jerusalem and a government minister:

Long Island Jewish American mogul and millionaire financier Morris Talansky, who is suspected of bribing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is described by acquaintances as a man who keeps his business affairs out of the spotlight.

Although he is a known fundraiser for and contributor to Jewish causes in the United States and Israel, nobody seems to know how he made his money. Moreover, though he has participated in dozens of public events, his photograph cannot be found on the Internet.

Olmert appears to claim that the funds were used for political purposes. It appears that the police believe Olmert used the money for himself.

One should add that Ehud Olmert is not the only Israeli politician suspected of corruption. Ariel Sharon’s son Omri, is serving time in an Israeli prison for political corruption. Most of Israel’s recent prime minister’s have been accused of similar activities.

Talansky is an interesting, if shadowy figure. Though he was trained as an Orthodox rabbi, he seems to have turned to non-profit Jewish fundraising. He spent 20 years as executive director of the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center. As the Orthodox hospital is located in Jerusalem, Talansky engaged Olmert numerous times to speak at charity events on its behalf:

Talansky makes some of his money by fundraising and consulting for Israeli and Jewish charity organizations. Among other things, he held a key post in the New Jerusalem Fund’s U.S. office; in the past, he also raised money for the ORT network.

However, Talansky made his name largely due to the funds he raised as executive director of the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which solicits overseas donations for the Jerusalem hospital. A Jewish activist in Brooklyn said Talansky was “the main New York activist for Shaare Zedek. In his heyday, he raised millions of dollars for the hospital.”

“He didn’t bother with small contributions, he went for the big ones,” the activist added.

It was during this period that Talansky met Olmert, who, during his 10-year term as mayor of Jerusalem, was frequently featured at Shaare Zedek dinners and other fundraising events sponsored by the medical center.

I too have been a fundraiser for Jewish non-profits. I suspect, without any direct proof, that Talansky may’ve introduced Shaare Zedek’s wealthier donors to Olmert and persuaded them to become donors to his political career. [UPDATE: The Forward seems to confirm this notion.] It is very flattering for a certain class of wealthy American Jew to hobnob with Israeli politicians, as it would be for a wealthy American to hobnob with presidential candidates.

It is also possible that Talansky may’ve had a financial motivation if he took a cut of every donation given to Olmert by a prospect the former referred to the latter. Though it is possible that Talansky had personal wealth of his own in those days to give to Olmert, as a salaried Jewish fundraiser I don’t know where he would’ve found such wherewithal. It seems more likely to me that Talansky would’ve been a conduit rather than the source of funds.

After reading this N.Y. Times story Talansky looks more and more like a character from opera bouffe or a bad Mafia spoof. He meets unsavory characters at Manhattan topless bars and solicits them to beat up on deadbeats who’ve cheated him in business deals. Yup, Rabbi Moshe Talansky frequents topless bars. A fellow Manhattan lawyer calls him the “Lawyer’s Full Employment Act” because he’s so litigious. He even sued for alleged breach of contract a Jewish museum which had hired him as a fundraising consultant and fired him after a few months. My guess is he never showed up and never raised a dime.

Olmert’s top aide listed Talansky in her schedule as “the laundryman.” “Bag man” would’ve been closer to the truth. Given Talansky’s history are we surprised Olmert agreed to resign if indicted? Imagine how many more skeletons might be rattling around in Talansky’s closet.

Ynet claims that Olmert’s former law and business partner is cooperating with authorities against him.  Not a good sign which perhaps explains the doom and gloom emanating from the PM’s office.

A couple of questions are going through my mind. I haven’t heard of any motive for Talansky’s alleged contributions or bribes (except for the scenario I advanced above). Did he get anything in return or was he doing it out of friendship to Olmert? Can there be a bribery conviction if the police can’t point to a benefit Talansky got in return for the funds?

Olmert will claim the funds were meant for political purposes, which still might’ve been illegal but at least not bribery. Does Olmert have to prove that he used them for political purposes? What if neither the police nor Olmert can actually document with certainty what he actually used the funds for?

For those who don’t know, gazlan in Hebrew means ‘robber.’ So did he or didn’t he? Did Ehud take wads of cash from Long Island investor and rabbi, Morris “Moshe” Talansky, when the former was mayor of Jerusalem? The NY Post reports a potential bombshell story claiming that Talansky is singing to Israeli detectives as I write this:

A Long Island mogul is at the center of a sensational bribery scandal that could bring down embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, The Post has learned.

Millionaire financier Morris Talansky - who runs an investment firm out of his home in Woodmere - allegedly passed money to Olmert while the politician was mayor of Jerusalem in the ’90s, sources said.

In a highly unusual move, Israeli authorities have barred the country’s media from publishing Talansky’s name - revealed now in The Post - saying it could hamper their investigation. Israeli media has referred only to the involvement of an “American businessman.”

Talansky is apparently set to sing to Israeli authorities about his alleged role in the scheme, sources said. “It looks serious, and it looks like they have a state witness” in Talansky, one source said.

Talansky - a philanthropist and political contributor to everyone from Rudy Giuliani to Bill Clinton - is in Jerusalem, where he has an apartment, preparing to head to a closed-door court hearing as early as today, sources said.

The 75-year-old was earlier questioned about the alleged scheme almost immediately after arriving in the country for Passover, and he implicated Olmert, sources have said. It was unclear what the alleged payments to Olmert were for, but sources said they involved hefty amounts of cash.

Talansky repeatedly appears - sometimes under the nickname “The Laundry Man” - in the logs of financial dealings kept by Olmert’s longtime aide, Shula Zakan, a source said.

The gag order on reporting the story in the Israeli press is a highly unusual procedure for a financial crime. This to me indicates that the case is a very serious one since similar past corruption investigations did not result in such orders.

Olmert currently has three investigations hanging over his head including a claim that he purchased a Jerusalem home at below market price and another claim that he helped a financial supporter in his attempt to buy a newly privatized Israeli bank.

All of this is slightly odd considering that Olmert is a trained lawyer. You would expect such a savvy operator to know how to stay out of trouble. But it appears the lure of the good life may have been too great.

In light of all of this, yesterday’s post about the post-Olmert Israeli political landscape becomes a little more urgent.

There are a few other tidbits online about Talansky. Samson Blinded reports that Talansky is a rabbi. The right-wing blog also laughably labels him a “Jewish traitor.” Apparently, Talansky was among a group of investors who sued an Israeli defense contractor because a spy satellite he invested in was prohibited from providing data to Hugo Chavez. Talansky is also listed as executive vice chairman of Israel’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He has also donated funds to Shaare Zedek. From his political donations, he largely supports Democratic candidates though he has a special fondness for Rudy Giuliani.

GIven the dearth of reporting on this, I’ve yet to see what motive Talansky might have to bribe Olmert, though the former does have many Israeli investments and seeking favor for one of them might’ve been a suitable motivation. Or Talansky might’ve just liked Olmert and wanted to help his political career financially.