Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto Pleads Guilty To Bribing Israeli Police
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Celebrity Israeli Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto pleaded guilty in a Tel Aviv court to charges of bribery as part of a plea deal.
Pinto, 39, pleaded guilty to charges of bribery, attempted bribery, and obstruction of justice for attempting to bribe a senior police officer for information in another investigation about him. As part of the plea bargain, Pinto agreed to provide evidence that he bribed a more senior officer.
He faces up to a year in prison plus fines. He surrendered his passport to the court.
Pinto, is the head of several charity organizations and yeshivot in Ashdod in southern Israel and in the U.S.
He arrived in Israel on Monday and was rushed to a Tel Aviv hospital after complaining of chest pains. A cardiac catheterization showed that he did not suffer a heart attack.
In April, 2014, U.S. federal prosecutors brought charges against former Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) for receiving large contributions from followers of Pinto. Grimm admitted to receiving several hundred thousand dollars in contributions from Pinto followers.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
