Corporal Louis Mascotta
Photo: Yaron Brener
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi
Photo: Yaron Brener
'Severe' indictment filed against soldier who stole from IDF chief
Prosecution to seek 'two-digit prison term' for soldier charged with stealing Ashkenazi's credit card
The military prosecution filed an indictment Sunday charging Corporal Louis Mascotta,
accused of stealing a credit card
from the office of the IDF's chief of staff, with theft, credit card fraud, and illegally removing weapons from an IDF base.
The prosecution has also appealed to a Jaffa military court for the remand of Mascotta's arrest.
High Crimes
Vered Luvitch
Indictment filed at Tel Aviv District Court Thursday reveals soldier who stole pistol from army chief's office walked into room to make himself coffee. Soldier's brother, Qalansawe man charged with arms trafficking, aggravated assault
The indictment says that in June of 2009 the soldier conspired to steal a weapon from a fellow soldier serving at IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv, but changed his mind because of the many people present at the base at the time.
It adds that Mascotta stole an M16 rifle from a guard room at the base as well as a handgun from the office of the chief of staff. He also used violence in order to steal a rifle from a guard at the headquarters last July, the indictment says.
Mascotta is also charged with photocopying Gabi Ashkenazi's credit card and transferring the information to an Israeli Arab, who used it in order to purchase drugs and cosmetics worth $380.
The information was also used to purchase tickets to an entertainment act worth $140 and a pizza from an Ashkelon restaurant worth $20.
Sources familiar with the case told Ynet the prosecution would seek "a two-digit prison term" in light of the severity of the charges.
"This is one of the most serious indictments to have been filed against a soldier in recent years, and includes a long list of various offences, each of which is serious on its own," one official said.
"This is not just about a soldier who committed a single act but a criminal routine, including offences that endangered the security of the state."
The prosecution's list of witnesses does not include the chief of staff, but his secretary and a number of other officers from his office may be summoned to testify against Mascotta.
