Former Jerusalem mayor arrested in expanding real estate bribery scandal

Former Jerusalem mayor arrested in bribery scandal

JERUSALEM — Israeli police arrested a former mayor of Jerusalem on Wednesday in connection with a multimillion-dollar bribery scandal that has been linked to a key confidant of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The arrest of Uri Lupolianski marks the latest twist in a scandal that has riveted Israel.

Last week, a longtime Olmert associate and five others were arrested in the affair, in which huge sums of money allegedly changed hands to promote several real-estate projects, including a large development in Jerusalem that required a radical change in zoning laws.

Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem when the bribery allegedly took place, and the construction was done during Lupolianski’s tenure.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Lupolianski was arrested and appeared before a court in central Israel. The court ordered he be held in custody for five days.

“This is part of the ongoing Holyland investigation,” Rosenfeld said, referring to the gigantic Jerusalem housing complex at the center of the affair.

Olmert was forced to resign in 2008 to battle separate corruption charges. Last week, an Israeli court suspended his trial on those charges for four weeks after his lawyers said the former Israeli leader couldn’t receive a fair hearing in the current climate.

The formal charges against Olmert include fraud and breach of trust. Israel’s Justice Ministry has not said what penalties Olmert could face, but the fraud charge alone could carry a prison term of up to five years.

The incidents in question, which include illegally accepting funds from an American supporter and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad, date from his time as Jerusalem mayor and later as a Cabinet minister, but emerged after he was elected prime minister in 2006.

The American supporter, businessman Morris Talansky, said he had given Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of it in envelopes stuffed with bills.

The 63-year-old Olmert returned to Israel from Europe early Thursday and went home without talking to reporters at the airport, Israel Radio reported.

Olmert has denied any connection to the latest scandal. In a statement, Olmert’s spokesman Amir Dan said Olmert would cut his trip short and return to Israel late Wednesday because of reports that police are interested in questioning him.

Olmert’s lawyer Eli Zohar has said he does not expect the ex-premier to be arrested when he returns.

Olmert has not been implicated directly in the latest case, and there is a partial gag order on it. But local newspapers have identified a “senior personality” matching Olmert’s initials as the official who received the bribes.

Among those arrested in the latest scandal was Uri Messer, a longtime Olmert confidant, whom police suspect acted as a middleman, funneling bribes to a high-ranking city hall official who was not identified.

The other suspects arrested were a former city hall official and property developers. Messer was responsible for Olmert’s campaign finances, and the two were partners in a law office.