Police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the seventh time Friday, this time focusing on suspicions of a $330,000 bribe he may have received by buying a house on Cremieux Street in Jerusalem at a reduced price. Police have surprising evidence against the Prime Minister, according to the Hebrew news website NFC, which has been at the forefront in exposing investigations against him.
The Friday questioning of Prime Minister Olmert has become routine, and he was questioned at his Jerusalem residence. Most of the previous police questioning has centered on envelopes of cash that the Prime Minister received from American businessman Morris Talansky before he began serving in his present position. Talansky was to return to Israel for further cross-examination, but has refused because of fears that American investigators may use his testimony here against him in an ongoing criminal probe there.
The alleged bribe that Olmert received came in the form of a reduction in the price of house, in return for his allegedly arranging permits for a building project on Cremieux Street, which had been declared a preserved area. Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem at the time.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz authorized the police to investigate him for bribery, unlike previous probes that concerned lesser charges of fraud and breach of faith.
More than 30 witnesses and suspects have testified so far, and the investigators reportedly confronted him with new evidence that NFC stated "supports criminal charges against him."