The Tel Aviv District Court convicted 12 men on various counts of racketeering, possession of firearms, aggravated assault, kidnapping, money laundering and tax evasion, Wednesday. The court's ruling was the first ever made using Israel's AntiRacketeering Act of 2003, aimed to fight organized crime.
According to the indictment, all 12 men were part of a criminal organization which operated over a number of years. The defendants distributed falsified tax invoices to the amount on NIS 84 million (approx. $25 million), operated as loan-sharks and caused severe bodily harm to those in their debt.
According to Israel's Anti Racketeering Act, membership in a crime organization is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
"This is a substantial conviction. The court determined for the first time, actually, that the Anti Racketeering Act does not contradict Israel's Basic Laws and declared that one must use new and sophisticated tools to fight modern crimes," said Prosecutor Maayan Ben-Ari.
The State Prosecutor's Office intends on asking for the maximum sentence for all 12 men, and especially for the three heading it.
The court did, however, acquit several of the defendant form some of the indictment's minor counts.
The criminal organization was exposed thanks to the efforts of the police's Sharon Regional Division, the Israel Tax Authority, the Tel Aviv District Prosecutor's Office and the finance and taxation division in the State Prosecutor's Office.