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JERUSALEM — Israeli prosecutors announced an expansion of their corruption investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday, saying they suspected he fraudulently billed multiple state agencies for the same flights when he was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister and used the extra money for personal trips and vacations.
In a statement issued after questioning Mr. Olmert for two hours, the police and the Justice Ministry said that the travel agency he used colluded in the scheme by sending copies of the same bill to numerous public bodies and booking Olmert family vacations with the profits.
A Justice Ministry spokesman added that the state agencies involved in the double billing included those focused on helping soldiers, mentally disabled children, the disabled and the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. He said Mr. Olmert would speak on their behalf during his trips and then ask them to pay for the fare.
--MORE--""More allegations surface about Olmert; Prime minister of Israel allegedly cheated charities" by Griff Witte, Washington Post | July 12, 2008
JERUSALEM - The latest accusation, announced in a joint statement by the Ministry of Justice and the police, is that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert billed charitable organizations for the same flights, and then used the extra money to fund vacations during his tenure as mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister. In addition to billing the organizations, Olmert would also bill the government, the statement said.
A source close to the investigation said Olmert pocketed in excess of $100,000 through the alleged scheme. The organizations included groups that help soldiers, mentally disabled children, and the physically handicapped, according to sources. They also included the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, which operates under a state charter.
He's a scum, folks. All there is to it; a criminal scum.
The allegations follow testimony by New York businessman Morris Talansky that he gave Olmert $150,000, much of it in cash, over a nearly 15-year period. Talansky said he believes Olmert used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle - including a family vacation in Italy and fancy cigars.
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Also see: Say Goodbye to Ehud Olmert
