Asked by District Court Judge Oded Mudrik how he pleaded to the charges against him, Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto answered, "I plead guilty." The judge said, "On the basis of the accused's confession and the indictment, I convict him of the following crimes: bribery, offering a bribe, and obstructing the course of justice (multiple cases)."
Under the plea bargain signed by Rabbi Pinto, he admitted giving a bribe to Israel Police Major General Ephraim Bracha in exchange for information about a different investigation being conducted against him, in which he was eventually not charged. As part of the plea bargain, Rabbi Pinto will give evidence for the state against former Israel Police Lahav 433 unit commander Major General Menashe Arviv, who is suspected of receiving illegal favors from Rabbi Pinto. As part of the plea bargain, the State Attorney's Office will ask the court to sentence Rabbi Pinto to one year in prison. Rabbi Pinto's defense lawyer, Adv. Eyal Rosovsky, requested that the arguments for sentencing be given in two weeks' time.
Rosovsky added that he would call to the stand Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel as a character witness for Rabbi Pinto in his sentencing arguments.
The reading of the indictment was postponed a number of times, due to Rabbi Pinto's being overseas, allegedly due to illness. He arrived in Israel on Sunday and went straight into the hospital, where he was catheterized. The Court was unimpressed by the claims of illness, and ordered Rabbi Pinto to appear at the hearing, where he was convicted according to his confession.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 14, 2015
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