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Adelson Questioned by Israeli Detectives As Part of Olmert Bribery Probe

Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson was questioned today by Israeli fraud squad detectives in connection with their fast moving probe of possibly illegal payments from an American businessman to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports:

Fraud squad detectives on Tuesday questioned American real estate mogul Sheldon Adelson in connection to the new corruption investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Adelson, 73, earned his fortune developing huge hotel, convention and gambling properties in Las Vegas and, recently, in China.

The billionaire was asked whether Olmert had requested he acquire for his hotels mini-bars marketed the key witness in the probe, American Jewish businessman Morris Talansky, from whom the prime minister is suspected of illicitly accepting large sums of cash.

Adelson is one of the owners of the free Israeli daily Israel Hayom paper and is considered a close associate of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli media report that a second American businessman, Daniel Abrams, has also been questioned by Israeli fraud police as part of the same investigation. "Daniel Abrams is suspected of transferring money from New York financier Morris Talansky to Olmert," the Jerusalem Post reported. "Abrams, a broadcast executive and former news correspondent, is also allegedly involved in two other scandals involving the prime minister - the Bank Leumi affair and the case of Olmert's Jerusalem home purchase."

World leaders including President Bush are descending on Israel these days for events to mark the country's 60th anniversary, including a conference slated to feature Bush and Olmert hosted by Israeli president Shimon Peres.

(Photograph of Adelson via Ha'aretz).

Comments

Israel is under the influence of the Russian mafia types who went there 20 years ago. I would never speak against the political leadership. I enjoy living too much. I don't want to die.

Posted by: Amzi on 05/13/08 at 2:49 PM Respond

Israel will get to the bottom of the fraud investigation and the Americans may or may not be charged. Just because the Jews are God's chosen people, doesn't mean they are perfect. It sure does appear to me that Americans are leading Israel astray in many ways.

The Jew has been back in their land 60 years now. Israel is younger than me. I was young when Israel became a nation as God had promised. It is awful that so many had to die before it was accomplished.

Now, so that there will be peace in the Middle East, I would like to see a new Palestinian nation, so that the Palestinians will have a homeland as well, and not be out of place and being killed.

Although selected warring President George W. Bush says he will have peace in the Middle East before his term ends, I doubt seriously Bush will accomplish that feat. If so, it would be great, but it is highly unlikely.

Posted by: MarthaA on 05/13/08 at 3:26 PM Respond

I took a look at the 990s filed with the IRS by Olmert's New Jerusalem Foundation and the numbers don't add up.

Donations by year:

1999 - $135,100
2000 - $376,750
2001 - $183,169
2002 - $160,497
2003 - $254,295
2004 - $267,911
2005 - $ 76,654
2006 - $208,826

Yet Olmert told the Jerusalem Post in 2000 that he had already raised $4.5 million. Zvi Raviv, NJF vice-president, told the Post that all of the money came from the US.

US taxpayers can only deduct charitable contributions to certain Israeli charities and the deductions are limited to 25% of gross Israeli income.

Did all of the big foundation donors forgo a tax deduction and contribute directly to the Israeli New Jerusalem Foundation which is a different entity than the US NJF?

Unlikely. The New Jerusalem Foundation featured the US tax i.d. number prominently on its website.

If the donors contributed directly to NJF in Israel and still deducted the donation in the U.S., that was not a legitimate deduction.

By bypassing the US NJF, the NJF officers and directors did not have to account for how the money sent directly to Israel was spent.

2002 New Jerusalem Foundation U.S. officers:

Ehud Olmert - President
Zvi Raviv - Vice President
Morris Talansky - Treasurer
Gary Wallin - Secretary
Elmeleh Joseph - Director (800 Fifth Ave NYC)
Joel Zonzein - Director
Ranaan Dinur - Director

Posted by: NY CPA on 05/13/08 at 4:40 PM Respond

In New York, CPA stands for cleaning, pressing, and alterations. OK, so Olmert is a crook. Most of the leadership is, so why pick on him. Is it a CIA plot? or may be he was more greedy that Sharon(he was silenced)? May be Netanyahu wants his position? Anyway, it looks like Olmert will leave office(he should because he had errors of Judgment with the Lebanon war).

Posted by: Mole on 05/13/08 at 6:43 PM Respond

Anyone who pays attention knows Israeli politicians are crooked and that Israel is a hot money laundering spot.

The foundation stuff appears to be peanuts, relatively speaking, but the idea that American fat cats are taking tax deductions for paying bribes irritates the hell out of me.

Obviously, Morris Talansky and Gary Wallin would have known what was going on because they both raised money for other Israeli causes.

Gary Wallin was AIPAC treasurer for eight years. That surely does not reflect well on AIPAC.

Posted by: NY CPA on 05/13/08 at 8:33 PM Respond

Someone at the Daily Kos already posted about the New Jerusalem Foundation.

Posted by: palmbeachmaven on 05/14/08 at 4:28 AM Respond

NY Cleaning Presssing Alterations, as always, no matter what the group, follow the money trail. Money corrupts people, or were the people corrupt to begin with?

Posted by: Mole on 05/14/08 at 8:29 AM Respond

I do try to follow the
money trail whenever I can but the way is not always obvious.

A lot of money seemed to be floating around in Israel circa 2000. Besides the New Jerusalem Foundation, there was the One Jerusalem Foundation and so on.

But some of the big Likud money may have come from RSL Communications, a shady publicly-traded telecom that lasted from 1997 to early 2001 when it went belly up. RSL had borrowed $2 billion that seemingly evaporated.

Ronald Lauder was RSL founder and majority shareholder. The CEO was Itzak Fisher, former treasurer of the Likud Party.

A lot of information never made its way to RSL SEC filings. For example, prepaid phone cards were sold cash but the amount was never disclosed.

Posted by: NY CPA on 05/15/08 at 4:41 AM Respond