TEL AVIV - Reputed local mobster Zeev Rosenstein will be extradited to the United States, a Jerusalem District Court judge ruled Tuesday.
Rosenstein is wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking.
Judge Yaakov Tzaban ruled Rosenstein would be held in Israeli custody until the proceedings against him are concluded.
“The U.S. has an interest in trying the defendant, because while the (criminal) connection was made in Israel, it was carried out entirely outside of Israel,” the judge wrote in his decision.
“The drugs were distributed and meant for distribution in the U.S., the investigation began and was conducted there, most of the evidence is there, and most of the (drug) network members were tried there,” he said.
Rosenstein’s attorney said he would appeal to the High Court.
Rosenstein vehemently denies allegations
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has already signed Rosenstein's extradition order. Although the Extradition Law states Israeli citizens may be extradited to other countries, Rosenstein has the right to serve his jail term in Israel, should he be found guilty and sentenced by a U.S. court.
The affair began in July 2001, when two Israeli citizens, David Roash and Yisrael Ashkenazi, were arrested in New York for possession of one million Ecstasy pills and a large sum of money.
During their interrogation, the two said they had been sent by Rosenstein to distribute the drugs.
Following his arrest, Rosenstein has vehemently denied the allegations, but an Israel Police source said at the time, “Today, we are concluding the first chapter in Israeli society’s war against those who have endangered it.”