Allegations of law breaking against Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto are being made by the FBI and Israel Police. The rabbi insists that he is innocent and that his good name was besmirched following his arrest that resulted from a clandestine investigation against him and his rebitzen for white collar crimes including bribery, money laundering and tax evasion.
The involvement of senior Israel Police officer Brigadier-General Ephraim Bracha has led to an internal affairs investigation in Israel. Rav Pinto allegedly offered Bracha a large bribe for information that would assist him in ongoing investigations against him. While Bracha reported the bribe offer to superiors, and wore a wire towards documenting Rabbi Pinto incriminating himself, there are now fears that the senior officer and others may have broken the law too.
What has brought the case back into the media spotlight despite a gag order on the case is that about a week ago media reports spoke of a bribery case. Rav Pinto is no longer under house arrest and returns to Israel this week, reportedly offering significant information on the case that may lead to senior officers in the police department. Pinto is known to be close to many senior officials in Israel Police and other security agencies. He is viewed as an extremely prominent resident of Ashdod.
Fears of a major bribery case have prompted Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to signal an expected announced of police recommendations of a serious indictment against the rabbi has been placed on hold pending the new developments.
The Knesset Interior Committee convened on Tuesday morning 14 Shevat 5774 and Chairwoman Miri Regev stated a confidential subcommittee will address the investigation, citing just how serious it has become, pointing at possible high-level Israel Police corruption.
Israel Police released a message stating the force is compromised of 30,000 policemen and officers dedicated and determined to perform their jobs in a professional fashion, cautioning against one viewing the entire force in a bad light due to rumors of a various nature. Police have also reminded the media that a gag order remains in place regarding details of the investigation.
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5 Responses
Rav Pinto is a Tzadik!
Of course he’s a tzadik but tzadikim can bribe too
There are many stories over the centuries of tzadikim bribing the government to avoid gezeiros. It has a strong basis in halacha to protect yidden.
If Rav Pinto did bribe (big “if”) then it was probably a case/situation where it doesn’t violate Halachah.
And I’m not too sure that the Halachah of “Dinah D’malchisa Dinah” commonly applies in the state of Israel…
The police are hopelessly corrupt. Hopefully this is the beginning of a clean sweep with an iron broom.