Fraud Squad Interrogates Israeli Prime Minister for Sixth Time on Corruption Charges

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faced the Israeli police fraud unit on Sunday for the sixth time since a series of corruption investigations against him were opened and the second time in ten days. The probe apparently resonating the most is the prime minister’s propensity for accepting expensive gifts from a number of donors, most prominently Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan whose provision of costly cigars, jewelry and champagne is legend among Israelis. Milchan has been interviewed extensively as well as investigators try to establish what, if anything, he gained from his longtime and very costly largesse to the Netanyahu family, especially because it appears that what Milchan provided was not of his choosing as a normal gift would be, but that the PM requested the items with specificity. With bribery charges hanging over his head, Milchan is expected to testify as a state’s witness. Another Netanyahu associate is expected to turn state’s evidence as part of a plea bargain, providing damning evidence in another case against his former boss. In that case, for which Netanyahu will be interrogated again shortly, the PM offered a hostile newspaper owner restrictions that would apply only to his chief competition in return for positive coverage prior to an election.