The case of suspected bribery that engulfs Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, has centered in large part on a Nassau County businessman, Morris Talansky of Woodmere, who has denied wrongdoing. Israeli state prosecutor Moshe Lador has reportedly contested in court the claims by both Olmert and Talansky that cash-filled envelopes that passed between them were merely legal donations.
Now, Assemb. Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), at right, who has been a political critic of Olmert, tells the Jerusalem Post that he saw an envelope passed to Olmert after a Brooklyn gathering in the 1990's, though he does not say from whom or exactly when. That story is linked here.
For his part, Talansky was interviewed for Israeli TV, thus the YouTubed video below. In it, he emphatically denies any wrongdoing. Other facets of the investigation, which could lead to a shakeup in the Jerusalem government, are described in this report in the newspaper Ha'aretz, which adds that detectives from an Israeli fraud unit have questioned Talansky. Another news account on Talansky's upcoming sworn testimony is here.
In the U.S., Talansky has contributed to many politicians, including ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Charles Schumer, President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton and others.
Dan Janison