Shlomo Lahiani
| Shlomo Lahiani שלמה לחיאני | |
|---|---|
 Shlomo Lahiani | |
| 11th Mayor of Bat Yam | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 May 1965 |
| Political party | Kadima |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Israel |
Shlomo Lahiani (Hebrew: שלמה לחיאני, born May 22, 1965) is a business owner and former Israeli politician. He was formerly mayor of Bat Yam. In 2014, following a corruption investigation, Lahiani pleaded guilty to three counts of breach of public trust[1] and accepting at least NIS700,000 in bribes.[2]
Early life
Lahiani was born in 1965 in Israel. His parents were immigrants from Bengazi, Libya.
Career
In 1997, he founded the independent political movement Bat Yam BeRosh Muram. In 1998, the movement won five seats on the Bat Yam city council. He served as a city council member and leader of the opposition from 1998 until 2003, when he became mayor.
"Despite having been indicted and previously fired by the High Court of Justice,"[3] he was first elected mayor as a Labour-backed independent in 2003 with 45% of the vote, beating the Likud candidate.[4][5] He was subsequently re-elected, with 86.3% of the vote, reportedly the highest ever in a large Israeli city, in 2008.[6] In 2000, he founded Ohavim, a non-profit organization with the goal of improving welfare and child care, and managing soup kitchens in the city.
Corruption case
In December 2009, Lahiani was arrested on charges of fraud, breach of trust, embezzlement and money laundering following a two-year undercover investigation.[7] Lahiani was indicted in April 2013 with accepting bribes of NIS 900,000 and failing to disclose NIS 8 million in income, as well as fraud and breach of trust.[8]
In a plea bargain reached in 2014, Lahiani pleaded guilty to three reduced charges of breach of trust.[1] On September 30, 2014, Lahiani was given six months of community service, as well as a six-month suspended sentence and a 250,000-shekel (US$67,840) fine, and barred from politics for 7 years.[2] He admitted to using money from the bribes to pay debts of his construction company, Alshav.[2]
References
- 1 2 Baum, Ido (2014-05-09). "Bat Yam mayor plea bargain a good deal for all". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
- 1 2 3 Lior, Ilan. "Convicted Bat Yam mayor banned from politics for 7 years". Haaretz. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- ↑ Bob, Yonah Jeremy (8 May 2014). "State cuts plea bargain with Bat Yam mayor". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ↑ "Lahiani stands as a Labour-backed independent". Haaretz. 2003-10-29. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ↑ "Likud loses control of several major cities". Haaretz. 2003-10-29. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ↑ "Who's your mayor? A look at the results of the '08 mayoral races". Haaretz. 2003-11-13. Archived from the original on 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
- ↑ Oster, Marcy (2009-12-29). "Israeli mayor arrested for fraud". JTA. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
- ↑ Hovel, Revital (2009-04-23). "Prosecution: Bat Yam mayor to be indicted pending a hearing". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-09-19.