Olmert’s lawyer, prosecution meet to discuss deal

Olmert is reportedly considering admitting to some level of obstructing justice in exchange for all of his prison sentences running concurrently instead of consecutively.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Former PM Ehud Olmert (photo credit: AMIT SHABAY/POOL)
Former PM Ehud Olmert
(photo credit: AMIT SHABAY/POOL)
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s lawyer, Eyal Rozovsky, met on Thursday with State Attorney Shai Nitzan to discuss a deal which could wrap up all his many remaining legal troubles.
Olmert faces 18 months in prison for the Holyland Affair, a potential additional eight months for the Talansky Affair, potentially more time from the Rishon Tours and Investment affairs, in addition to a possible indictment for obstructing justice in all these cases.
Discussions are being held with the aim of agreeing to a set amount of prison time he would serve for all the remaining cases, so as to save him and the prosecution further trials and appeals to the Supreme Court and reduce his total prison time.
Olmert is reportedly considering admitting to some level of obstructing justice in exchange for all of his prison sentences running concurrently instead of consecutively.
In May, the Jerusalem District Court sentenced Olmert to eight months in prison following his conviction in the Talansky Affair retrial, one of three violations he was accused of in the Jerusalem corruption trial.
The Talansky case consisted of Olmert illegally receiving, using and concealing at least $153,950 in envelopes from New York businessman Morris Talansky between 1993 and 2002.
Olmert is already set to become the first prime minister in the country’s history to go to prison, on February 15.
The sentence for the Talansky Affair was his second jail term following another 18 months he is due to serve for the Holyland real estate case, which the Supreme Court reduced on appeal from an initial six-year sentence.
But the state has appealed other cases in which Olmert has been acquitted, such as the Talansky Affair and the Rishon Tours Affair.
In the case of Rishon Tours, Olmert had been accused of double-billing organizations for reimbursements for international flights, and the state has appealed the verdict that found him innocent of these charges.