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Photo: Motti Kimchi
Maj. Gen. (res.) Menashe Arbiv
Photo: Motti Kimchi

Former head of police's top investigative unit convicted in plea deal

Originally charged with fraud and breach of trust for allegedly receiving 'benefits' from Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto while repeatedly failing to report it, Maj. Gen. (res.) Menashe Arbiv signs plea bargain convicting him of failing to perform his duty as a police officer.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Menashe Arbiv, the former head of the Israel Police's top investigative unit Lahav 433, was convicted Thursday of failing to perform his duty as a police officer.

 

 

Arbiv, who also served as the Israel Police's representative in the United States and the deputy Tel Aviv District commander, was suspected of enjoying "benefits" over the years from Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, who served a one-year sentence for bribing Arbiv's superior, Brig. Gen. Ephraim Bracha.

 

Despite their close ties, Pinto's lawyers provided the police with details on the "benefits" Arbiv had received from the rabbi's associates, leading to the launch of an investigation into the senior police officer.

 

Maj. Gen. (res.) Menashe Arbiv in court, Thursday (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Maj. Gen. (res.) Menashe Arbiv in court, Thursday (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

 

According to the original indictment, in which he was charged with fraud and breach of trust, Arbiv first met Pinto in early 2010, while the rabbi was dividing his time between the city of Ashdod in Israel and New York City.

 

Arbiv formed ties with both Pinto and his close associates, including the rabbi's personal aide in Israel, Yossi Amos.

 

Those ties were based on aligned interests: Pinto wanted a connection to a source of power, like a senior police officer, while Arbiv sought personal ties to the influential rabbi, who had connections in Israel and abroad.

 

As part of their alliance, the indictment claims, Arbiv made different requests for help from the rabbi and his associates for personal needs, all the while making sure to maintain his ties to the rabbi.

Among other things, Arbiv asked Pinto for help in finding a job in New York for his son and daughter-in-law, as well as help in obtaining a discount to purchase an apartment in a prestigious complex in Tel Aviv.

 

According to the indictment, Pinto and his associates did help Arbiv's daughter-in-law find a job and helped her obtain a US work visa, paying $2,650 for it.

 

Arbiv, left, with Pinto
Arbiv, left, with Pinto

 

Arbiv and his relatives also stayed several times at the Metro Apartments in New York, which at the time was owned by Pinto's aide, Ben-Zion Suky. The Metro employees refused to receive payment for these guests, and Arbiv and his family left cash money in envelops for the stay, based on what they thought was appropriate to pay.

 

According to the indictment, the close ties between the two continued even after Arbiv learned Pinto was a suspect in a criminal investigation into his Jerusalem-based Hazon Yeshaya non-profit organization. Furthermore, Arbiv failed to report his ties to Pinto to the relevant authorities in the police.

 

At a later stage, Pinto allegedly offered Arbiv $60,000 to interfere on his behalf to close the investigation. Arbiv did not report this offer to the relevant police bodies, nor did he report the fact Pinto was aware of this covert investigation concerning him.

 

Arbiv also handled a request by the FBI for information on Pinto, despite his ties to the rabbi and while failing to disclose said ties.

Moreover, Arbiv failed to disclose the information he had when the investigation into Pinto trying to bribe his superior, Brig. Gen. Ephraim Bracha, came to light in late 2012, despite the fact he knew his information was valuable to the investigation.

 

Pinto being released from prison (Photo: Dana Kopel) (Photo: Dana Kopel)
Pinto being released from prison (Photo: Dana Kopel) (Photo: Dana Kopel)

 

When asked about his ties to Pinto during the investigation into Pinto's bribes to Bracha, Arbiv provided a false version, once again leaving out of his testimony vital information.

 

Arbiv's defense team said in response, "For three years, an investigation has been ongoing at the Police Investigation Unit probe against Maj. Gen. (res.) Menashe Arbiv over suspicions of bribery. To that end, the State Attorney's Office signed an outrageous state witness agreement with Rabbi Pinto to try and establish the suspicions against Arbiv. The indictment left out any of the bribery allegations.

 

"The facts, as they were presented in the indictment, did not lead to a disciplinary hearing in other similar cases, and the prosecution chose to file an indictment in this case only because of the agreement reached with Pinto—an agreement harshly criticized by the Supreme Court.

 

"It's important to emphasize that there was no alliance of interests between Arbiv and Rabbi Pinto, as described in the indictment."

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.22.18, 11:56
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