Interpol issues warrant for Herzliya cab driver's murderer

String of errors led to freedom for Moshe Ben-Ivgi.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
moshe ben-ivgi 248.88 (photo credit: Channel 10)
moshe ben-ivgi 248.88
(photo credit: Channel 10)
Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for Moshe Ben-Ivgi, convicted for the 1994 thrill killing of Herzliya cab driver Derek Roth. After fleeing to Argentina during a furlough from prison four years ago, Ben-Ivgi is on the run again, and is believed to have left the South American country. In a murder that shocked Israel, Roth was shot several times in the back while in his cab. The murder was carried out by Moshe Ben-Ivgi and a second teenager, Arbel Aloni. Ben-Ivgi, who was 14 at the time of the killing, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His sentence was extended by five years after he robbed two convenience stores while on a prison furlough. Following the robberies, the Prisons Service sought to revoke Ben-Ivgi's furlough rights, but the High Court of Justice accepted an petition by Ben-Ivgi and he continued to be let out of jail. In 2004, Ben-Ivgi used another furlough to escape to Argentina, where he made contact with other Israeli criminals on the run. A few months later, he was arrested in a suburb of Buenos Ares for drug offenses. Israel began extradition proceedings, although there is no extradition agreement between the two countries. In 2007, authorities released Ben-Ivgi on bail, since according to Argentinean law, an individual cannot be held criminally responsible for crimes he committed as a minor. Since then, the State Prosecution's international department and the Israel Police have attempted to have Ben-Ivgi extradited back to Israel on murder and grand larceny charges. Ben-Ivgi was ordered to present himself at a police station every 20 days while an Argentinean court proceeded with the extradition request. In recent weeks, the court was going through the final stages of Ben-Ivgi's appeal against the extradition, but he suddenly disappeared, and is believed to have fled Argentina. Argentinean police officers who came to Ben-Ivgi's home found that he had escaped. According to a report in Ma'ariv, authorities in Israel knew about Ben-Ivgi's disappearance before the public learned of it, but kept the development a secret, failing even to inform the family of Derek Roth. News of Ben-Ivgi's disappearance only reached media outlets after a statement was released by an attorney for Roth's family. The family has vowed to continue efforts to track Roth and return him to prison.