"Olmert asked for cash. I'd transfer the money to Shula Zaken, in envelopes, and sometimes to Olmert when he was in New York," said Morris Talansky in his deposition in court today. "I also used my credit card when he stayed at a New York hotel. I'd raise money for him for first-class seats on flights when he came to New York because they paid for business class."
Talansky added that he raised the money because he believed in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "I never expected anything. I never received anything in exchange from this relationship. The thought of an interest never crossed my mind. I really wanted and hoped that he would become the leader. Over the years, for 15 years, I was a big donor," he said.
Talansky continued, "I gave big checks and little checks, and raised at least $100,000. I believed in the cause, which was the good of Israel and the good of my family if we lived here. It never crossed my mind that this would be used for gifts. I didn’t need this. I had my business and this was for charity. I really loved the man."
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador: "How did you know when Olmert needed money?"
Talansky: "Shula would call me."
Lador: "When Olmert was a minister, did they say what he needed the money for?
Talansky: "Shula always talked about expenses. She never said exactly what for. Olmert mentioned expenses for the primaries. I was never told exactly what. I understood that he said that, like in elections, when people work for you, and I understood that these were the expenses he was referring to."
Lador: "What about the expenses in the US>"
Talansky: "Shula would call and say that Olmert was coming to the US. The expenses weren’t always covered. She'd ask me if I could raise money for expenses and I'd raise $3,000 or $4,000...The organization didn’t cover all of his expenses, so I raised the rest."
Lador: "What about the flights?"
Talansky: "They paid only for business class and the money I raised was for first class and other expenses."
Lador: "Can you estimate the number of times that you met Olmert when he was minister of industry, trade and labor, and how many times you met him in New York?
Talansky: "About 10 or 15 times during the period, in Israel and in New York. Once in California."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 27, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008