Olmert graft witness cites police pressure

JERUSALEM, July 20 (UPI) -- A U.S. businessman claimed in a Jerusalem courtroom Sunday that police investigating Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert put words in his mouth.

Morris Talansky said pressure from police interrogators looking into corruption allegations against Olmert caused him to be nervous and confused and accounted for differing stories he's told about how much cash he allegedly gave to the prime minister, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Olmert stands accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars during a 15-year period from Talansky, a Jewish-American businessman living in New York. Olmert attorney Eli Zohar Sunday hammered away at discrepancies in Talansky's statements about an alleged $30,000 cash payment to the prime minister.

Talansky said he was in a state of "anxiety, fear and confusion" when he was interviewed by police, which led him to agree with statements his interrogators were making even though they weren't true.