Key witness testifies in Olmert bribery case

A US businessman at the centre of a bribery case against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert testified on Tuesday he gave the Israeli leader cash-stuffed envelopes including personal loans that were never repaid.
Morris Talansky told the Jerusalem District Court he had passed $150,000 to the veteran politician over a 15-year period, praising Olmert as "a man who could accomplish a great deal" for Israel and who deserved his support. "I gave (Olmert) cash in envelopes," Talansky, a New York-based fundraiser, said in preliminary testimony requested by prosecutors.
Both Olmert and Talansky have denied any wrongdoing in the case that has raised questions about the prime minister's political surival at a time when he is talking peace with the Palestinians and pursuing indirect negotiations with Syria. Olmert, 62, has said he would resign if indicted.
Even in a country where many people assume corruption in high places is rampant, the image that the prosecution painted of Olmert as a politician with a penchant for expensive cigars and a preference for cash over checks offered by an American Jewish businessman was extraordinary.
Olmert, who was twice questioned by police in recent weeks, has said he took cash from Talansky for his two successful campaigns for mayor of Jerusalem in 1993 and 1998, a failed bid to lead the right-wing Likud party in 1999 and a further internal Likud election in 2002. A judicial source said the sums involved totalled hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Legal experts have said investigators want to examine whether the money was declared to authorities and if Olmert dispensed any favours in return. Israeli law broadly prohibits political donations of more than a few hundred dollars.
Talansky said he handed over sums, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 at a time, in Israel or in hotel suites during visits Olmert made to New York before becoming prime minister. "I asked him why I couldn't write a check and he said it's because of the way the money is channelled," Talansky said. During one visit, to an upscale Washington hotel, Olmert asked Talansky to pick up a bill for more than $4,700 for a three-day stay, according to the testimony.