Benny Tabin, a businessman with ties to the Likud along with former-prime minister Ehud Olmert and his former aide Shula Zaken was found dead in his car Thursday near a Tel Aviv cemetery. He was found with a gun in his hand and his death is being treated as a suicide.
His body was found as a Jerusalem District Court was hearing testimony from Zaken about Olmert. Upon learning of his death, Zaken asked the court to take a recess.
Olmert, Tabin, Zaken (Photos: Ido Erez, Shaul Golan, Tali Meir)
Zaken is now serving an 11-month prison term at the Neve Tirza women's prison as part of a plea bargain she made to bring new charges against Olmert.
The Talansky trial, named after Morris Talansky, an American-Jewish businessman suspected of funneling illegal funds to Olmert, was reopened on Monday morning, two years after Olmert's acquittal.
During Olmert's time as mayor of Jerusalem, Tabin, an old personal friend of Zaken, was indirectly involved in some constructions involving now convicted real estate entrepreneur David Appel, according to the police.
Some claim he was also instrumental in helping flip Zaken against Olmert in the Holyland graft affair, in which he was also recently questioned. He chose to take advantage of his right to remain silent and stonewalled investigators.
According to Haaretz ,Tabin was a key figure in the Likud during the past two decades, and was considered to have had very close ties with business figures like Appel and Shlomi Oz, who were closely linked to Likud leaders and former prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.
According to the same report, Tabin was convicted in 1993 for issuing false receipts during the 1988 national elections and 1989 local municipal elections and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment.
Roi Mendel contributed to this report