Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert Going to Prison
JERUSALEM, Israel -- For the first time in history a former Israeli prime minister is going to jail. Former Prime Minister and Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
On Tuesday, Israel's Supreme Court rejected in part an appeal by Olmert on a 2014 bribery conviction.
Olmert was acquitted of accepting a 500,000 shekel (about $130,000) bribe but was convicted of accepting a 60,000 shekel (nearly $16,000) bribe. Had he been convicted of both he would have spent six years in prison.
The charges concern a controversial building project, called the Holyland Park, erected during Olmert's tenure as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993-2003. He was forced to resign as prime minister in 2009 amid the scandal surrounding corruption allegations.
Thirteen officials, developers and business people were charged in three separate schemes, YNET reported, including Uri Lupoliansky, another former Jerusalem mayor.
The Jerusalem Post reported that "most of the defendants were powerful Jerusalem public servants who took bribes to smooth over legal and zoning obstacles for the Holyland real estate project."
Following the sentencing Olmert was quoted as saying that he'd never accepted a bribe but would respect the court. He's due to begin serving his sentence on February 15, 2016.
