Lieberman visits former minister Misezhnikov in prison
Defense Minister Lieberman visits former tourism minister and Yisrael Beytenu party member Stas Misezhnikov—serving 15 months for fraud, breach of trust—in Galilee's Hermon Prison; visit held separately from other prisoners due to security concerns.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman met prisoner Stas Misezhnikov at Hermon Prison Wednesday. Lieberman met Misezhnikov, his former Yisrael Beytenu party member and former tourism minister, separately from other prisoners due to security concerns.
Lieberman arrived at the northern region's prison's gates at 4pm for a visit coordinated in advance due to the Yisrael Beytenu chief's position as minister. The two convened for an hour in a room other than the one used for other convicts to meet their families.
The Galilee's Hermon Prison is a therapeutic, rehabilitative prison where other famous inmates from the world of politics and art served their sentences. One of its distinct advantages for prisoners is that it affords them the ability to move freely during the day without the close supervision of other prisons.
Former minister Misezhnikov arrived at the northern prison this past December to serve his 15 month sentence following a plea bargain conviction on fraud and breach of trust offenses.
Misezhnikov signed a plea bargain, conceding that he acted in a serious conflict of interest during his term in office, transferring NIS 1 million in Tourism Ministry funds to the Eilat Funjoya Student Festival in 2010, and at the same time recommending that the festival's organizers employ Yulie Roth, with whom he had a close and discreet relationship.
In addition to time in prison, the court also sentenced Misezhnikov to six months of probation and ordered him to pay a fine of NIS 70,000.
After the approval of the plea deal, Misezhnikov told the judge, "I confess and I'm very sorry. I take full responsibility for my error in judgment. I'm far from being a corrupt man. There are no patterns here. I'm paying a heavy price even today. Now, I'll have to start everything anew. But I'm determined after having taken responsibility for committing the offense to rehabilitate my life and the life of my family."
According to the amended indictment, Misezhnikov personally promoted the festival with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and demanded that the director-general of the ministry keep him abreast of progress on the approval of the festival's funding.
The former politician did not disclose his connection to Roth, who was employed by Peles Group—the producer of the festival—following his recommendation as tourism minister, and the fact that Roth is supposed to receive money for her work in producing the festival—roughly NIS 100,000.
Misezhnikov, the State Prosecutor's Office announced, took advantage of his senior public position and high standing to arrange lucrative ventures for Roth, and in so doing, committed fraud and an act of breach of trust that harms the general public.
