JERUSALEM — Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared in court Friday for the opening of his trial on charges of corruption.
He was indicted on three counts of corruption in late August after a lengthy investigation that forced him to resign last fall. The accusations include fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and failing to report income.
The allegations relate to the years when he served as mayor of Jerusalem and as a senior Cabinet minister before he became prime minister in 2006. If convicted, he could face prison, although prosecutors have not specified what penalty they will seek.
Olmert, who has always denied wrongdoing, is accused, among other things, of having illicitly received more than $600,000, some ofit stuffed in envelopes, from Morris Talansky, a Long Island, N.Y, businessman, between 1997 and 2005.
As he entered court, Olmert, who practiced law before entering public office, told reporters, "I come here as a man innocent of any crime, and I believe I will leave here as a man innocent of any crime." He added that for three years he had been subject to "an almost inhumane campaign of defamation and inquiries." Now, he said, it was time for the court to deal with "facts, and facts alone."
The court session Friday dealt mainly with procedural issues. Olmert acknowledged that he had read and understood the indictment. He and his legal team are scheduled to reply to the charges in December, and the court will start hearing testimony in February.
The charges against Olmert stem primarily from three episodes that unfolded over the past two years. Talansky, 76, a resident of Woodsburgh in New York's Nassau County, testified in Jerusalem in May 2008 about the huge sums of cash he had transferred to Olmert. According to Talansky, much of the money was for election campaigns, but some was for Olmert's personal use.
Prosecutors accuse Olmert of hiding the money and failing to report it to the authorities. Though Olmert has not been charged explicitly with taking bribes in the Talansky case, he is accused of abusing his position as a government minister to promote Talansky's private business interests in Israel and abroad, a major conflict of interest.
Olmert is also charged with fraudulently billing multiple entities, including state agencies and charities, for trips abroad during his timein government, and with using the credit he purportedly amassed to finance private and family travel.
In a third charge, Olmert is accused of promoting the interests of the clients of a longtime associate and former law partner, Uri Messer, while Olmert served as the minister of industry and trade.
Olmert is also charged with failing to report money that he received from other sources to the state comptroller, as he was required to do as a minister. Shula Zaken, Olmert's close confidante and former office manager who is also under indictment in connection with various counts of fraud, appeared alongside him in court.
Olmert, who had led the centrist Kadima Party, formally resigned under intense public and political pressure a year ago, but he remained in office as a caretaker prime minister until the spring.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 09/26/2009