Close to mayor. Taizi
Photo: Motti Kimhi
Suspicion: Tel Aviv municipal workers aided crime syndicate
Investigators say two senior employees disclosed information on municipal tenders to Musseli crime family in exchange for money
Police suspect that two Tel Aviv Municipality employees who were arrested on Monday used their positions to promote the interests of Yossi Musseli’s reputed crime family.
The suspects were identified as Deputy Sanitation Department head Shalom Ben-David and Yuval Taizi, a former senior city employee.
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Ami Bussi, a senior member of the Musseli crime syndicate, was also detained.
The Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court extended their remand by four days. The remand of another suspect, Adi Cohen, was extended by three days. The suspects have denied the allegations.
During the court hearing, a representative of Israel Police's National Fraud Investigations Unit presented the findings of a months-long covert investigation indicating that the suspects aided the crime family's interests by promoting employees with ties to the family and disclosing information.
Taizi, who was considered very close to Mayor Ron Huldai, is suspected of disclosing information on municipal tenders to the crime family, which used the information to make a fortune.
Investigators suspect that Bussi was in charge of transferring bribe money to the city employees in exchange for promoting the crime family's interests. "The suspects systematically committed various offenses within city hall," the police representative told the court.
One of the suspects' attorneys, Ronen Rosenblum, said the city employees and the crime family members are merely "acquaintances," adding that "no crimes were committed."
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