At the end of several weeks of investigation, the Jerusalem District Central Police arrested Yekutiel (Kuti) Zinni, 50, from Tel Aviv, on suspicion of blackmailing a businessman from the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of the capital.

According to a report by Michael Prusmushkin at the Posta site, Zinni was arrested about two months after the police began an open investigation, in which at the end of December and the beginning of January this year, a number of suspects in the extortion by threats from the Ramat Shlomo businessman were taken into custody.

According to suspicions, several criminals were hired to collect money from that businessman.

According to the police, during the collection attempts, violent acts were carried out against the obliging businessman, including telephone harassment, threatening conversations, the throwing of a stun grenade at his house, shooting at his family’s home and smashing of windows in a house belonging to a relative.

Six suspects who were arrested and they were released over time, after insufficient evidence was established against them. This week, as stated, Zinni, a former resident of Hadera, was arrested and the police attribute him to involvement in conspiracy and extortion by threats.

According to Posta, Yekutiel Zinni has a rich criminal record, and he has already been involved in extortion by threats.

Zinni is suspected of having come to the businessman’s house in Jerusalem several times with the intention of extorting money from him. He is also suspected of threatening the family of the complainant and of obstructing the interrogation before and during his arrest. In his interrogation, he invoked his right to remain silent.

According to the police, the detectives who arrived at Zinni’s registered address with a search warrant and an arrest warrant did not find him there. According to the police, after being summoned for interrogation, he did not come on various pretexts, and after he showed up for questioning, he waited a few minutes at the station and then left Jerusalem.

Therefore, according to the police, an arrest warrant was issued at the police station. On Monday, during a police check in Tel Aviv, they noticed that he was wanted for questioning.

Investigators from the Jerusalem District Police Department requested that Zinni be remanded for eight days, during which he represented himself, claiming that he did not know the other suspects and they did not know him.

He repeatedly denied any connection to the allegations against him, claiming that he had not evaded the police at all.

Judge Oren Silverman ruled that there was reasonable suspicion, but only partially responded to the police request and extended Zini’s detention until February 28th.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)