A prominent activist and associate of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been called to testify in the Talansky corruption investigation. Sharon Tzur, founder of pro-Israel group Media Watch International and former Likud party activist, received a summons by the court conducting the ongoing investigation into the PM’s alleged bribery case.
The case pending against Olmert involves Morris Talansky, an American Jewish businessman, who admitted to giving Olmert envelopes of cash amounting to at least $150,000 over a period of ten years. In a previous deposition Talansky denied any knowledge that his donations were illegal according to Israeli law.
According to investigators, Tzur was considered a possible witness in the initial investigation of the case, but the police had dropped her name from the witness list when they failed to find additional information connecting her to the case.
During Talansky’s interrogation, however, he named Tzur repeatedly as a witness who was present when Talansky handed Olmert one of the envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash. Police are hoping that she can confirm the testimony.
Reporters were unable to reach Tzur for comment Tuesday night.
Political consultant Zev Furst is yet another possible witness in the Talansky scandal, as police are attempting to gather testimony from Furst in the United States. Prosecutors want to know whether Furst ended up receiving any of the money Olmert received from Talansky.
An investigative report appearing earlier this year in Haaretz Magazine revealed that Tzur paid the bill for Olmert’s stay at a luxurious New York hotel in 2005 while Olmert was Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment.
According to the report, Olmert and his wife ran up a hotel bill of $2,600 at the Peninsula Hotel, but billionaire Michael Kadoorie, one of the hotel's owners, reduced the price for his friend Olmert. The final tab, including drinks and room service, of $2,200 was paid by Tzur and her Media Watch International.
Tzur claimed in her defense that MWI footed the bill because the organization was hosting Olmert’s New York stay as part of the compensation Olmert received for appearing in a series of meetings on behalf of MWI.
A team of three Israeli investigators is in the U.S., searching for more evidence to support Talansky’s testimony. The team plans to conduct depositions in New York, Washington and Las Vegas, as well as visits to Talansky's office, his bank, and the hotels at which he met Olmert.
Police and prosecutors in Israel have not had a chance to fully review the information gathered so far by the team, but preliminary reports reveal that the material they have found does support Talansky’s story.
Olmert claims that all money received by him from Talansky was used solely for his election campaigns. The Prime Minister will be questioned by the police on Friday for third time since the start of the investigation. At this interrogation session, which will be conducted under caution, he will be confronted with the new material gathered over the last few weeks in the U.S. and Israel. Among the evidence that Olmert will have to account for are indications that he in fact made personal use of some of the money Talansky gave him.
Investigators expect Friday’s questioning to be take two hours, double the time required for each of the two previous interrogations. They hope to commit Olmert to a version of events before the Prime Minister has a chance to review the evidence recently gathered against him.