Businessman David Appel was convicted Thursday of bribing former Lod mayor Benni Regev and Givat Shmuel Mayor Zamir Ben-Ari. The payments were in return for advancing real estate projects in Lod and Givat Shmuel.
Appel has also been convicted of actions calculated to secure the promotion of Oded Tal, an official in the Israel Lands Administration, in return for kickbacks.
Avigdor Kelner, arrested Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the
Holyland real estate bribery investigation, has been linked to a previous corruption investigation which led to the indictment of Tal. Tal has also been charged with receiving bribes from Kelner and Appel.
