Former Israeli PM Olmert innocent of corruption, guilty of breach of trust

JERUSALEM, July 10 (UPI) -- A Jerusalem court acquitted former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of corruption Tuesday but found him guilty of breach of trust.

In one of the most significant trials in Israeli history involving a former prime minister, Olmert was tried on charges of corruption stemming from his tenure as mayor of Jerusalem and minister of Trade and Industry.

Justice Moussia Arad spent an hour reading the executive summary of a 700-page ruling, Ynetnews.com said.

Olmert was accused of allegedly double-billing non-profit organizations for overseas flights and using the extra money to pay for private trips for himself and his family, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from U.S. businessman Morris Talansky and granting illegal favors to Uri Messer, a former partner and longtime friend.

The three-judge panel acquitted Olmert on the first two sets of charges but found him guilty of breach of trust on the third.

"This was not corruption, there were no cash-filled envelopes, there was no bribery, there was no illicit use of funds," Olmert said. "The [first two] affairs were the heart of the prosecution's claim against me, and I was acquitted in both cases," Olmert told Israel Radio.

The Jerusalem Post noted Olmert's legal troubles are far from over. He is still on trial in Tel Aviv with 12 other individuals on charges of corruption involving bribery, fraud and alleged payoffs to public officials.