Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, a multimillionaire celebrity rabbi with a following in the US, has accepted a plea bargain in a high-profile bribery case and could face a year in prison, an official says
The official says Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, as part of the plea bargain, agreed to admit to bribing a senior police officer for access to his police file in 2012. He said prosecutors would seek a year-long jail sentence for Pinto.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official Israeli announcement.
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He said as part of the plea bargain, Pinto has agreed to turn state's witness in a separate bribery case against another police officer, the head of a unit known as Israel's FBI, who later resigned.
The indictment is based on an investigation run by the police for over a year on an alleged bribe of $200,000 of officer Ephraim Bracha, in return for information regarding an investigation into an association with which Pinto was involved.
Commander Arbiv, the former head of the Lahav 433 anti-fraud unit - had over the years been enjoying "benefits" from Pinto. The indictment is based on an investigation run by the police for over a year on an alleged bribe of $200,000 of officer Ephraim Bracha, in return for information regarding an investigation into an association with which Pinto was involved.