Police: Indict Mateh Yehuda council head for rape, fraud
Police announced on Wednesday that they have an evidentiary basis to recommend an indictment of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council head Moshe Dadon for rape, bribery, fraud and breach of trust. This comes after a year-long investigation into Dadon’s dealings with local building developers.
Police also recommended indicting Dadon’s brother Avi, chairman of the Association for Field Crops, on suspicion of rape, bribery, and fraud, along with indicting contractor Gavi Mengazi and the council’s legal adviser for bribery.
Mateh Yehuda is a region in the Jerusalem District that covers the area along Route 1 east of the capital and around Beit Shemesh. It is home to around 40,000 people.
“The investigation is concerning a suspected conspiracy by the mayor’s brother and other persons involved, in order to promote a deal to sell Mateh Yehuda Council lands to private enterprise in exchange for bribes,” police said in a statement.
The investigation, handled by the police’s Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit, in cooperation with the Tax Authority and the Antitrust Authority, was conducted covertly for several months. It was made public in December 2015, when Dadon was arrested along with 11 others, including council members, on suspicion of fraud, sexual offenses and taking bribes. Once the investigation began, Dadon was removed from his post as council head and from the council building.
“This is a wide-ranging investigation, hing off to several different incidents involving other senior council members, mostly its legal adviser,” the statement said.
Police interrogated dozens of people in the investigation and seized property and assets, including cash stored in vaults and in secret bank accounts.
Upon completion of the investigation all materials were sent to the Jerusalem district attorney for examination and a decision on prosecution.