MIAMI - A Florida court approved on Tuesday the plea bargain according to which Israel underworld kingpin Zeev Rosenstein will be convicted of conspiring to commit a crime and serve 12 years in an Israel prison.
Tel Aviv District Police’s central unit had tried to put its hands on Rosenstein for some 20 years, and the mobster was eventually detained following a joint investigation by Israel Police and American law enforcement agencies over suspicions that he attempted to distribute a million Ecstasy tablets.
The affair that ended with Rosenstein’s capture began in July 2001 when two Israeli citizens, David Roash and Yisrael Ashkenazi, were arrested in New York for possession of a million Ecstasy tablets (worth an estimated USD 40 million) and a large sum of money.
During the interrogation the two said they had been sent by Rosenstein and his associates to distribute the drugs.
In February 2002 Roash and Ashkenazi were transferred to Miami for further interrogation. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested Colombian national Patricio Vivas as a suspect in the case.
It is estimated that upon his return to Israel, Rosenstein will be jailed in the Rimonim Prison, where he was held prior to being extradited to the US.
Prisons Authority officials said the chances that Rosenstein will be granted leaves or early parole are slim.