Police intend to recommend filing an indictment against Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, a spiritual adviser to several high-profile New York real estate players, for bribing the leader of the department’s fraud unit, Israel Hayom reported.
Pinto, whose close ties with industry leaders include Keller Williams NYC’s Ilan Bracha, developer Haim Binstock, Sapir Organization’s Zina Sapir and top attorney Morris Missry, is accused of seeking information from the police officer, Brig. Gen. Ephraim Bracha of the National Fraud Unit, about an ongoing investigation against the nonprofit that he heads called Hazon Yeshaya, as The Real Deal has reported.
The state prosecutor — rather than police — informed Pinto of the case against him, a source told Israel Hayom, because Bracha’s officers are investigating the alleged crime.
Pinto has come under tight scrutiny for his growing influence in U.S. political and financial circles, as well as the financial dealings of many of his associates. The attention also has focused on the substantial real estate deals linked to the rabbi, sources previously told The Real Deal. [Israel Hayom] – Hiten Samtani