Criminal Appeal 05 / 4596
Zeev Rosenstein
Against
State of Israel
In the Supreme Court sitting as a Court of Criminal Appeals
[30.11.2005]
Before Vice President M. Cheshin and Justices A. A. Levy, A. Rubinstein
Appeal against the decision of the Jerusalem District Court (Judge Y. Zaban) of April 19, 2005 in HC 4023/05. The appeal was dismissed.
Dvora Chen, Ariel Bendor, Shlomo Nissim, Benny Nahari, Keren Nahari – on behalf of the appellant;
Gal Lavtov, Director of the International Affairs Department at the State Attorney’s Office; Yitzhak Blum, Senior Deputy A and Head of International Affairs at the State Attorney’s Office;Yuval Sasson, Senior Assistant to the State Attorney – on behalf of the Respondent.
Judgment
Judge A. E. Levy
An Israeli citizen is wanted in the United States for conspiracy to import and distribute a dangerous drug. The prosecuting authorities there are seeking to prosecute him. The State of Israel, in which he resides and within whose territory the connection is connected, is requested, on the basis of an extradition treaty between the two countries, to extradite him. Israel's penal law allows him to be tried here. Is there any law that he should be extradited? This is the question before us in this appeal.
Factual Background
- On December 27, 2004, the United States filed a motion for Israel to extradite the appellant, Ze'ev Rosenstein. The application included a detailed description of an offense attributed to the appellant, which - This is according to the version of the prosecution officials in the United States - A conspiracy in Israel was linked to the importation of a dangerous drug into the United States and its distribution there.
The extradition request is supported by evidence that appears to be the atonement of an intensive investigation. It is detailed and comprehensive. The picture, ostensibly to be tasted, is bleak as it appears. It reveals a suspicion of a worldwide criminal conspiracy, the realization of which was made possible by the remote operation of emissaries and emissaries. The connection, which allegedly yielded its bad cows for a long time, led to the introduction of about 1.5 million tablets of the drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine (M.D.M.A., also known as "Ecstasy"). The appellant is suspected, in addition to his general involvement in the conspiracy, of having financed the purchase of about a third of the drug tablets out of his own pocket. One should not exaggerate the severity of the suspicions, the broad scope of the alleged acts, and especially the social and health damage they entail. It was the American company, which served as the main target of the activity, that bore the lion's share and would have had to bear even more severe consequences if the plan had been fully implemented.
- This, in essence, is the version that arises from the extradition request: in 1996 or 1997, the appellant first met a man named Baruch Dadosh (hereinafter - Dadosh), and the two became friends. According to the claim, about two years later, they began to engage in criminal activity together. One day in 1999, the two met at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv-Aviv Am Ahad, Zvi Fogel (hereinafter - Fogel). The appellant, it is claimed, suggested to Dadush and Fogel to deal in drugs and even informed Fogel that Dadush
will act as his representative in any future drug transaction. After this meeting, Dadush began to deal drugs for the appellant, including the transactions at the center of this affair.
- The extradition request claims the existence of three large-scale drug deals, in which the appellant was involved. The first was carried out in 1999, in which 135,000 drug tablets purchased in the Netherlands were imported to the United States and transported to their destination via Germany hidden in vehicles. According to the American prosecution's version, the appellant financed the purchase of these 32,500 tablets. After the sale of the drug in the United States, Fogel transferred to Dadush part of the profits of the transaction, of which Dadush gave the appellant $90,000 and the same amount he kept for himself (section 15a To the affidavit of Benjamin G. Greenberg, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Hereinafter - the plaintiff's affidavit; paragraphs 2-7 of Dadosh's affidavit, attached to the extradition request).
In the same year, another drug deal was allegedly executed. It led to the distribution of approximately 305,000 drug tablets in the United States, of which the appellant financed the purchase of 50,000 tablets - in the sum of $50,000 that he paid to Fogel through Dadosh - the purchase of 50,000 tablets. This time, the drug was transported hidden in copper waste and computer parts. Dadosh asked to travel to the United States with his brother, Alan, to coordinate the distribution of the drug, but his entry was refused and he returned to Israel. Allen himself entered the United States and there, under Dadosh's guidance, he worked to distribute the tablets in New York City. The profits from the work were transferred to Fogel in Israel. The latter gave the relevant part to Dadush, of which the appellant was given his own portion (paragraph 15b of the plaintiff's affidavit; paragraphs 8-9 of the affidavit of Dadush; paragraphs 2-5 of Allen's affidavit that was attached to the extradition request).