© 2004 Agence France-Presse
Israel seeks to extradite mafia boss
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Israel has launched proceedings to extradite notorious suspected mafia boss Zeev Rosenstein to the United States, where authorities hope to try him on charges of international drug smuggling. Rosenstein, who was arrested early on Monday in the commercial capital Tel Aviv, was to appear in a Jerusalem court on Tuesday, where Israeli prosecutors were expected to ask that a US request for extradition be granted. Israeli police, in cooperation with US Drug Enforcement Administration agents, had been tracking 51-year-old Rosenstein - their most-wanted suspect - for years on suspicion that he headed up a global drug-running network. Rosenstein's ring allegedly distributed at least 1 million ecstasy tablets throughout the United States and Europe, according to police. About 20 of his associates are already behind bars in the United States. Israeli media reported that US Attorney General John Ashcroft had hailed Rosenstein's arrest as a "significant step" in the fight to stamp out cross-border crime. "My client was apprehended only because he is likely to be extradited to the United States," Rosenstein's attorney Motti Katz told Israeli public radio. Katz replaced Rosenstein's long-time lawyer Benny Nahari, who himself was reportedly placed under house arrest on suspicion of involvement with the racket. Israeli police swooped to arrest Rosenstein because they believed he posed a flight risk, and because they thought he may have had an informant within their ranks. "Over many years, we needed to gather and put together the tiny pieces of an extremely complex puzzle before we could incriminate Rosenstein," former Israeli police chief Shlomo Aharonishky, who just stepped down, told reporters. Last year Aharonishky launched a "zero tolerance" initiative to crush organized crime networks in Israel, saying there were 48 active criminal gangs and 850 suspects wanted by police. Rosenstein has been the target of at least six assassination attempts, one of which was a bomb attack that killed three bystanders and injured another 30 in Tel Aviv last December. The infamous underworld kingpin, who owns several casinos abroad, is also suspected of involvement in prostitution rings and extortion, according to press reports, which put his annual income at more than $10 million. He recently began construction on a massive luxury villa in the up-market town of Hod Hasharon northeast of Tel Aviv. According to Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily, police uncovered a worrying arsenal in the homes of his associates, including pistols, M-16 assault rifles, grenades, cakes of explosives, two LAW anti-tank missiles and a Sager missile. But Rosenstein's shady dealings did not prevent him from being courted by Israel's high society. A few months ago, actors, journalists and politicians were among the guests at the lavish bar mitzvah he hosted for one of his sons.
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