Sefardi haredi kabbalist to the stars Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto is leaning toward accepting a plea deal that would see him serve only one year in prison for an array of crimes that includes trying to bribe a senior police officer and obstruction of justice.
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto
Kabbalist Reportedly About To Accept Plea Deal In Bribery, Obstruction Of Justice And Money Laundering Case
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Sefardi haredi kabbalist to the stars Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto is leaning toward accepting a plea deal that would see him serve only one year in prison for an array of crimes that includes trying to bribe a senior police officer and obstruction of justice, the Hebrew-language news website Walla! News reported today.
But Pinto’s attorneys are still lobbying for a no-prison sentence and it may be the court that ends up deciding whether Pinto will walk free or serve minimal time.
Pinto would plead guilty to attempted bribery of one senior police officer in the amount of NIS 200,000 and probably to obstructing justice, as well. He would also have to return to Israel to give evidence against retired police Commander Manasseh Arbiv, another senior police officer whom Pinto claims to have bribed.
Arbiv denies being bribed and has repeatedly lashed out at Israel’s attorney general and other officials for refusing to take his statement of examine evidence he has that he claims proves that Pinto is lying.
If he accepts the deal, Pinto would allegedly escape charges on counts of harassing a witness, money laundering and other crimes.
Pinto is one of Israel’s top 10 richest rabbis with a net worth in the tens of millions of dollars.
He and some of his aides allegedly looted a charity, Hazon Yeshaya, that Pinto controlled.
Money and large-scale food donations given to the charity and earmarked for needy Holocaust survivors was instead stolen by Pinto’s men. The food was sold on the black market and the cash was dived among them – allegedly including Pinto.
Pinto’s attempted bribery and related charges stem from his attempts to thwart the investigation into those crimes.