Israel's Ehud Olmert Indicted on Bribery Charges

Counts date back to time as mayor of Jerusalem
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 5, 2012 7:10 AM CST
Israel's Ehud Olmert Indicted on Bribery Charges From Time as Jerusalem Mayor
Ehud Olmert arrives for the beginning of his corruption trail at the Jerusalem District Court on May 31, 2011 in Jerusalem, Israel.   (Getty Images)

Things got worse for Ehud Olmert today, as the former Israeli prime minister was indicted on charges related to bribes he allegedly took back when he was mayor of Jerusalem. Olmert is already on trial for three unrelated counts, but the new charges are the most serious: He’s accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars to facilitate the construction of a massive Jerusalem housing complex widely known as "the monster," the New York Times reports.

Officially known as the Holyland, the complex was allowed to grow to more than 12 times the height specified in its original permits, turning it into an eyesore. When the alleged bribes came to light two years ago, the presiding judge called it “one of the worst corruption affairs in Israeli history.” Several other people are also named in the indictment, including another former mayor of Jerusalem and the former head of the Israel Lands Authority. (More Ehud Olmert stories.)

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