It took awhile, but former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is finally receiving some payback for years of corruption if not abysmal leadership.
Today Judge David Rozen sentenced Olmert, 68, and a number of co-defendants after they were found guilty of receiving millions of dollars from the Holyland Development Company while they were putting up the Holyland luxury real estate project in Jerusalem and Olmert was Jerusalem's mayor.
Olmert received a six year sentence and a NIS 1 million fine. Rozen had a few things to say during sentencing, telling Olmert that he had committed "one of the worst crimes under law" and described bribe-takers as traitors whose actions "polluted civil service".
Olmert's lawyers are likely to appeal the sentence and ask for bail. Since he's a flight risk as far as I'm concerned, I hope the judge denies it.
It's too bad this was the only charge they were able to convict Ehud Olmert on, and they only got him on this one because his former assistant, Shula Zaken decided to accept a plea bargain with limited jail time in order to testify against him.
There's no penalty under Israeli law for incompetence or borderline treasonous leadership, but this is at least something, even if it's roughly the equivalent of popping Al Capone for income tax evasion.
If hubris and rudeness were punishable by law - I'd give him another couple of years. I had the misfortune of stumbling upon this creature when he was the mayor of Jerusalem. He had all the charm of a snake and hissed as well.
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