Convicted Rabbi Yosef Pinto to be released from prison today
Updated: Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto will be released from prison on Wednesday after spending less than one year behind bars.In a statement released to the press on his behalf, Pinto said that the prosecution@@@s "vendetta" against him had "failed," and accepted the court@@@s decision to release him with "equanimity" and "dignity."Pinto entered prison in February 2016 after being convicted of trying to bribe the head of the Israel Police’s National Fraud Squad, Ephraim Bracha, with $200,000 to obtain information about a criminal investigation into Pinto’s Hazon Yeshaya foundation.The celebrity rabbi’s sentence followed a furious legal and public relations campaign, including a plea bargain with the prosecution to turn state’s witness against former Lahav 443 commander Menashe Arbiv. He was sentenced by Tel Aviv District Court Judge Oded Mudrik in May. Included was a NIS 1 million fine, a major blow to a man who had fought all out for community service and no jail time.ByREUTERS06/08/2025 07:57 AMByREUTERS06/08/2025 05:36 AMByMAARIV06/07/2025 02:33 PMByWALLA!06/07/2025 11:18 AMByREUTERS06/07/2025 03:25 AM
