May 28, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1429

NEW YORK, May 27: A New York businessman told an Israeli court in a case of fraud and bribery against Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he had given the Israeli leader envelopes stuffed with cash and had been asked to pay for everything from expensive cigars to an Italian vacation.

According to ABC news report on Tuesday, New York businessman Morris Talansky told the Israeli court that some of the cash ‘donations’ handed over to Olmert were loans, which he expected to be repaid.

In a pre-trial deposition, Talansky, 75, said he had given envelopes stuffed with money to Olmert and his bureau chief Shula Zaken over a 15-year period.

On several occasions, according to Talansky, he had met Olmert in hotels in New York and Washington to give him the bulging envelopes.

He said that on one occasion he had paid $4,700 for Olmert’s three-day stay at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, a bill which included dry cleaning and video rentals.

“I had a very close relationship with him, but I wish to add that the relationship of 15 years was purely of admiration. I never expected anything personally. I never had any personal benefits from this relationship whatsoever,” Talansky claimed.

His evidence is bound to make Olmert’s survival in the prime minister’s office more difficult.

The Israeli prime minister denies accusations of wrongdoings and has said that all donations were used for ‘legitimate political campaigning’.

But details revealed in court on Tuesday will damage the Israeli leader who is already deeply unpopular with the electorate.

Olmert has promised to resign if he is indicted by police and state prosecutors.

The ABC news report said that Israeli State Prosecutor Moshe Ldor told reporters inside the courtroom that it was too early to say whether the investigation would result in the prime minister’s indictment.