| On her way to jail, Zaken sheds light on Olmert’s culpability |
Estranged bureau chief to serve 11 months in prison after agreeing to help state in Talansky, Rishon Tours affairs • Judge David Rozen embraces plea bargain that has Zaken surrendering key documents on Olmert’s alleged misconduct.
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Ehud Olmert’s former bureau chief Shula Zaken awaits her verdict in Tel Aviv on Thursday
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Photo credit: Tomer Appelbaum
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Shula Zaken, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s bureau chief for more than a decade, was sentenced to 11 months in prison on Thursday over her role in the Holyland affair more than a decade ago. Zaken also received a 25-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay about NIS 100,000 ($28,000).
On March 31, Zaken and Olmert were found guilty in the high-profile corruption trial. Tel Aviv District Court Judge David Rozen said that Olmert, while serving as mayor of Jerusalem between 1993 and 2003, and later as a cabinet minister, cut red tape in exchange for bribes from real estate developers, with Zaken playing a major role.
Olmert was convicted of two counts of bribery and was sentenced to six years in prison. In addition, he received a two-year suspended sentence. Rozen attributed moral turpitude to Olmert’s conviction, and ordered him to pay a 1 million shekel ($290,000) fine.
Zaken, who was convicted of four counts of bribery and one count of money laundering, struck a plea bargain with the state in exchange for testifying against Olmert. She agreed to serve a relatively light sentence of 11 months in return for providing new evidence against her former boss, including personal documents showing the transactions that took place in his bureau (the so-called „Zaken Diaries”). The new evidence could help the state overturn Olmert’s acquittals in previous trials surrounding undeclared cash donations from American businessman Morris Talansky and the double-billing scheme that was used to fund Olmert’s overseas travels. Zaken also shared with police secretly recorded conversations in which Olmert allegedly tried to obstruct justice and tamper with her testimony.
On Thursday, Zaken told the court that Olmert had been well aware of bribes that originated with real estate developers.
„I got money from [the late state’s witness] Shumel Dechner, and Olmert counted it,” she told Rozen. According to Haaretz, she said Olmert instructed her to send the money to his brother, Yossi, who was in dire financial straits. The former prime minister has insisted throughout the trial that he was not aware of any payments made to his brother.
