Israeli Man Charged With Bribing Sharon
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

…Appel was indicted in the Tel Aviv Magistrates court for allegedly giving Sharon hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote an ambitious real-estate project in Greece when Sharon was foreign minister in 1999 and to help rezone urban land near Tel Aviv before and during Sharon's term as prime minister.

Sharon was allegedly asked to use his influence to push forward both projects, although neither project in Greece nor the land deal near Tel Aviv came to fruition.

During 1998-1999, the indictment said, Appel "gave Ariel Sharon a bribe in recognition of activities connected to the fulfillment of his public positions.''

It said Appel paid a total of $690,000 to Sharon's family ranch in the Negev desert. Appel, a powerful activist in Sharon's Likud Party, also promised his support to Sharon during two election campaigns, the indictment said.

The indictment also charged Appel with bribing Vice Premier Ehud Olmert to promote the Greek project when Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem in the late 1990s.

It also charged that Sharon's son, Gilad, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consultation fees for the Greek project. Prosecutors believe these funds were used to bribe Ariel Sharon.

"(Appel) and Gilad agreed to this arrangement despite the fact that the defendant knew that Gilad had no relevant professional qualifications,'' the indictment said.