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Famous Israeli rabbi sentenced for bribery

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto (R) in the Tel Aviv District Court, May 3, 2015 (Flash90 photo)

An Israeli court has sentenced a famous Israeli rabbi to a year in prison over charges of bribery.

The Tel Aviv District Court convicted Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, 39, of bribing Israeli police’s national anti-corruption unit, on Tuesday. The court also fined him some USD 260,000.

Pinto had offered senior police officer Ephraim Bracha USD 200,000 in exchange for classified information on a police investigation into the Hazon Yeshaya charity organization, one of Pinto's several charities.

According to a 2012 Ha'aretz article, Pinto stole much of the donated food and sold it for “tens of millions of dollars”.

Rabbi Pinto, who is considered to be one of the Israel’s richest people, has many followers among US celebrities and business people.

In February, Yona Metzger, a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi, also faced trial on charges of taking bribes, money laundering and other crimes.

RS/MHB/AS


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