JERUSALEM — Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted Sunday in a corruption scandal that led to his resignation last year and set the stage for a rightward shift in Israeli politics.
According to the 61-page indictment, which the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, and the state prosecution presented to the Jerusalem District Court, Olmert is accused of crimes including fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and failing to report income. He is the first Israeli premier to face trial, and if convicted he could receive years in prison.
The charges in the indictment stem from three main episodes that unfolded over the past two years, as evidence turned up by investigators in one matter led them to another. All the cases relate to the period when Olmert served as mayor of Jerusalem and as a government minister, but before he became prime minister in 2006.
Throughout the investigation Olmert, 63, has maintained his innocence, and a spokesman told local media Sunday that Olmert expected to be exonerated.
Noting that other allegations against Olmert were dropped without charges being brought, spokesman Amir Dan told the daily Haarertz that Olmert "is convinced that he will once and for all be able to prove his innocence in court."
The most sensational of the three cases involved Morris Talansky, a Long Island businessman, from whom Olmert is alleged to have received more than $600,000, partly in cash stuffed envelopes, from 1997 to 2005. Prosecutors accuse Olmert of hiding the money and failing to report it to the authorities. Though Olmert has not been charged with taking bribes in the Talansky case, he is accused of abusing his position as a government minister to promote Talansky's private business interests in Israel and abroad, constituting a major conflict of interest.
Olmert is also charged with fraudulently billing multiple entities, including state agencies and charities, for trips abroad during his time in government. He is accused of amassing a secret credit account of more than $92,000 at his travel agency, which he used to finance private and family travel. The indictment includes a chart documenting more than a dozen trips that Olmert tookto the United States, Europe, the Far East and other destinations, and charged two or more agencies for, from 2002 to 2005.
In a third scandal, Olmert is charged with promoting the interests of the clients of a longtime associate and former law partner, Uri Messer, while Olmert served as the minister of industry and trade.
Messer, according to the indictment, provided Olmert with various services, including running a "secret fund" with cash from Talansky and other sources that was kept in a safe in Messer's office, and later in a safe at a bank.
Olmert is also charged with failing to report funds that he received from other sources, including another American citizen, to the state comptroller, as he was required to do as a minister. Shula Zaken, Olmert's close confidante and former office manager, was also indicted on various counts of fraud.
The investigation undermined Olmert's already troubled tenure as head of the Israeli government and complicated efforts last fall to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Olmert rose to the prime minister's chair in 2006 after then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a stroke.
He was quickly embroiled in a war with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia that resulted in widespread criticism of his management and calls for him to step down.
In July 2008, Olmert announced that he would not compete in an approaching primary for the leadership of his Kadima party.
He formally submitted his resignation as prime minister in September, setting the stage for a February election, in which Israelis favored right-wing parties over the more centrist Kadima.
Olmert is currently out of politics and battling prostate cancer, but is widely rumored to be plotting a comeback.
Olmert's spokesman said his priority is to focus on his legal battle. "Once this is over and he has proved he is innocent, then he will consider what to do next. All options are open," he said.
Information for this article was contributed by Howard Schneider and Samuel Sockol of The Washington Post, Isabel Kershner of The New York Times and Josef Federman of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 08/31/2009