Wife of Israeli PM Signs Plea Deal over Misuse of Funds

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, signed a plea deal with state prosecutors on Wednesday and will pay a fine that’s the equivalent of about $15,200. The deal comes a year after she was charged with fraud and breach of trust for spending $100,000 of state funds for catered meals at the Prime Minister’s Residence while there was a full-time chef on staff, something that’s forbidden. Netanyahu and the former caretaker of the residence allegedly mispresented the chef’s job in order to obtain the funds. As part of the plea deal, Netanyahu and the caretaker admitted to a lesser charge of “exploiting a mistake”; the latter is to pay a fine of nearly $2,800 and will be given a suspended sentence. Ms. Netanyahu is not the only one in the family facing legal troubles, as the prime minister is facing indictments in three separate cases based on allegations of illicit gifts, financial favors and, in one of the case, bribery. The Netanyahus allege that the cases against them are a political witch hunt.