Indictment nears in crooked cop and celebrity lawyer corruption case

The Fisher case first broke last July when Fisher was arrested on suspicion of brokering bribes between police officers and his clients.

By BEN HARTMAN
Israel Police logo (photo credit: Courtesy)
Israel Police logo
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The state has finished its case against former star attorney Ronel Fisher and an ex-detective who allegedly fed him information in exchange for bribes, and an indictment is expected by the end of the week, the Justice Ministry said Monday.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s court held an additional remand extension for Fisher and Ch.-Insp. Eran Malka on Monday. It ordered Fisher kept in jail until Friday and Malka until Thursday.
At Fisher’s hearing on Monday, Noa Limor, the representative for the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Department described Malka as “a corrupt cop that oversaw some of the most sensitive cases handled by the Israel police,” and that Fisher “worked in a manipulative way to extort people under investigation and give them information in exchange for money.”
Limor said that the two men “did not hesitate to use any means necessary and together they crossed every line.”
During his hearing, Malka said he took responsibility for his actions and he is prepared to pay the price. He admitted to the bribery charge, saying it was “not for the money. There were other reasons.”
The Ronel Fisher case has snowballed in the past couple of weeks, almost 10 months since the case first broke.
Last week former Tel Aviv chief prosecutor Ruth David was arrested in connection to the case, on suspicion of obstruction of justice and of being part of Fisher’s alleged scam to sell information to suspects in police investigations.
State Attorney Shai Nitzan told a group of hundreds of lawyers in the State Prosecutor’s Office last Thursday that the case against her is “without precedent.”
She is suspected of contacting other people of interest in the case on behalf of Fisher and helping them corroborate their stories before police questioning.
She spent decades as a Tel Aviv district prosecutor before joining Fisher’s law firm in 2012.
David was released to house arrest on Monday.
The Fisher case first broke last July when Fisher was arrested on suspicion of brokering bribes between police officers and his clients. Last month he was arrested again after a breakthrough in the case against him.
Others reportedly implicated in the case so far include a number of prominent developers and businessmen, as well as Fisher’s ex-boss and associate, Ofer Nimrodi. The former Ma’ariv owner was arrested by Justice Ministry investigators on suspicion of trying to bribe Malka in exchange for receiving information about the police case Nimrodi himself was being questioned on.