Abutbul released from prison as mob threatens his life

Police fear release of mafioso "Francois the Great" may spark gang wars; Abutbul received death threats while in prison.

By BEN HARTMAN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Prison jail generic (photo credit: Courtesy)
Prison jail generic
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Underworld figure Francois Abutbul was released from prison on Sunday, after serving a year and ten months of a 22-month-sentence for physically assaulting his wife.
With the Netanya mob boss back on the street, police fear a flare up in gangland violence as his adversaries come gunning for him.
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While serving his sentence, Abutbul, known as "Francois the Great," received a threat from reputed mob figures demanding he leave the country or his life would be at risk. 
The crime leader filed a petition with the prison authority to be interviewed by the media after receiving the threatening letter, but he was denied.
"If Abutbul wants to send a message to his enemies, he can do so through relevant police sources," the prison authority said.
In August, Abutbul’s father Charlie was arrested in Netanya along with four accomplices on suspicion of plotting a mob hit on a member of a rival crime family
Charlie Abutbul, who heads the Netanya-based Abutbul crime family, was critically wounded in an attempted hit in September 2008. His brother, Felix Abutbul, was gunned down outside a casino he owned in Prague in 2002.
Felix’s son, Asi, the one-time head of the crime family, was sentenced in 2009 to 13 years in prison for a litany of charges including arson, extortion, and unlawful imprisonment.