Crime boss goes to jail over hidden gun
Weapon concealed by Amir Mulner in Ramat Gan backyard, intention to use it in criminal way lead to conviction, jail sentence for police's 'No. 1' target
Amir Mulner, the No. 1 target of the Tel Aviv District Police, was sentenced to 32 months in prison on Tuesday for heading "a group which conspired to commit a crime", all because of a gun hidden in a backyard.
Justice David Rosen from the Tel Aviv District Court noted that Mulner was involved in serious offenses, "The defendant conspired to commit a crime, carried the weapon with a silencer, surely not to brag and boast. A gun is a lethal weapon usually used to injure and inflict bodily wounds and murder."
The judge accepted prosecutor Yossi Kurzberg's claim and further noted that target hits performed by rival crime groups in which innocent civilians are sometimes hurt, have become common place in the country.
Mulner's lawyer, Attorney Moti Katz, said he planned to appeal the Supreme Court over the harsh sentence. He said the court found it difficult to rid themselves of his client's image. "Judges are human beings, and its hard for them to face this public pressure."
Mulner. Plans to appeal sentence (Photo: Yaron Brener)
Last month Mulner was convicted of conspiring to commit a crime, weapons possession, and other counts following his arrest while he was trying to hide a gun in the backyard of a home in Ramat Gan.
During the trial Mulner denied the charges and claimed he had no knowledge of a gun being placed at the spot, however security cameras which recorded the event proved beyond a doubt that he was actively involved with the concealing of the weapon.
The prosecution claimed that Mulner's crime group intended to use the weapon in a lethal manner and the court accepted it.
Mulner was recently connected to a drug smuggling affair focused on the import of 108 kilograms (238 pounds) of cocaine from Panama. He will not be indicted due to lack of evidence.
