A clip of Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg, who was arrested last week on suspicion of having committed bribery, fraud and breach of trust, has surfaced, showing him apparently accepting a stack of cash from a local businessman allegedly involved in his corruption case.
The clip was published by Channel 12 on Monday after it began circulating on WhatsApp groups for Petah Tikva residents. The network said that the man seen counting out a stack of cash and handing it to Greenberg is involved in the case against the mayor, but did not identify him or elaborate any further.
It was not clear when the video was filmed.
Greenberg was arrested last Wednesday and has been behind bars since. On Monday, the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court ordered that his remand be extended by an additional four days. During the remand hearing, an emotional Greenberg said his cell at the Abu Kabir detention center in Tel Aviv has been infested with ticks, bedbugs, and cockroaches, which has prevented him from being able to sleep.
Judge Gil Gabai, who accepted the prosecution’s argument that releasing Greenberg could lead to the mayor tampering with the investigation, ordered that police look into his claims regarding his prison cell.
Greenberg also denies having accepted any bribes.
According to Channel 12, Greenberg is alleged to have made an illicit deal with the businessman in the video under which the mayor would approve a series of construction plans in Petah Tikva in exchange for the businessman funneling hundreds of thousands of shekels into his election campaign.
Petah Tikva mayor Rami Greenberg on December 5 2017. (Rami Greenberg/ Wikipedia CC-BY-4.0)
The money was allegedly transferred to a bank account in China to be harder to track, the network said.
Greenberg tried to advance the construction plans after he was elected in 2018, but faced opposition from residents, including a community activist named Yaron Kadoshim.
Greenberg allegedly threatened the company that had been employing Kadoshim’s wife that it would lose municipal funds if she wasn’t fired, Channel 12 reported, without citing any sources.
The businessman then began leaking incriminating videos of Greenberg, such as the one released on Monday, warning that additional ones would follow if the mayor didn’t advance the building plans as promised, according to Channel 12.
