Ehud Olmert Avoids Prison in Corruption Case

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By JTA September 24, 2012

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to one to three years of probation and fined about $19,000 for a breach of trust conviction.

Olmert was sentenced Monday in Jerusalem District Court. He could have faced up to three years in jail. The state had recommended a six-month jail sentence.

The sentence in the Investment Center Affair does not include a ruling of moral turpitude, which would have prevented the 67-year-old from entering politics for seven years.

Olmert had agreed to forgo the perks awarded to a former head of state, including a secretary, an office and a car, in exchange for the finding.

The Jerusalem District Court in July acquitted Olmert on charges of fraud, breach of trust, tax evasion and falsifying corporate records in what became known as the Talansky and Rishon Tours affairs. He was found guilty on the lesser charge of breach of trust in the Investment Center case

Olmert is the first former Israeli prime minister ever to stand trial. He officially resigned as prime minister in September 2008 after police investigators recommended that he be indicted.

Following the verdicts, Olmert said he has no plans to reenter politics.

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