By: Lauren Marcus
A bombshell report broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12 News Monday evening revealed that the State Prosecutor’s office and senior police investigators covered up a conflict of interest held by senior investigator Police Superintendent Avi Rothenberg.
According to the report, officials feared that pending criminal cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose credibility if Rothenberg’s conflict of interest became public, so the decision was made to engage in a cover-up.
Rothenberg, the lead investigator in a 2016 misuse of state funds investigation against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara and a senior police investigator, was in a romantic relationship with Judy Nir Mozes, which he hid from his superiors.
Mozes, an outspoken critic of Sara Netanyahu, is the sister of Yediot Ahronot owner Arnon “Noni” Mozes, who was charged alongside Benjamin Netanyahu in Case 2000. Additionally, she is a major shareholder in Yediot Ahronot.
Internal police documents obtained by Channel 12 News revealed that Rothenberg was confronted by his superiors in 2016 about his relationship with Nir Mozes. He denied there was a conflict of interest, claiming Nir Mozes was not his romantic partner and that he lived with his wife.
At the time, Rothenberg had access to sensitive evidence during the Case 2000 investigation, in which Nir Mozes’ brother faced bribery charges.
When Israeli police investigative unit Lahav 443’s anti-corruption unit head Roni Rittman learned of the relationship between Rothenberg and Nir Mozes, he did not report it to the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID).
Instead, reported Channel 12 News, Rittman decided to handle the revelation “discretely” and suggested that Rothenberg quietly be moved elsewhere in the department.
According to a PIID report obtained by Channel 12 News, investigators found that Rothenberg “was aware of the personal interest of Nir Mozes in the outcome of the investigation and the way it was handled, including the close relationship between her and her brother.”
“The suspect positioned himself in clear conflict of interest,” they concluded.
But the State Prosecutor at the time, Shai Nitzan, allegedly refused to look into the matter further, as he was worried that information about Rothenberg’s conflict of interest going public would torpedo the cases against Netanyahu.
No further action was taken and Rittman and Rothenberg quietly left the police force in 2018. (World Israel News)
Read more at: worldisraelnews.com
