Sharon’s Son Gets 9-Month Sentence

The oldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in prison for illegal fundraising during his father’s 1999 primary campaign.

Despite calls for leniency after the elder Sharon’s devastating stroke last month, the judge called the case against Omri Sharon a political “swamp that must be dried up.”

But the younger Sharon, 41, will not have to serve his sentence immediately because of the grave medical condition of the Israeli leader -- he remains in a coma at a Jerusalem hospital.

Omri Sharon oversaw parts of the campaign and fundraising activities in advance of his father’s victory in the 1999 Likud Party primary. Prosecutors asserted that he collected more than $1.3 million from groups in Israel and overseas for the campaign, far exceeding fundraising limits.

The primary win helped propel Ariel Sharon to election as prime minister in early 2001 and reelection two years later. His son served as a Likud lawmaker during that time. The elder Sharon was not indicted.

Under a deal with prosecutors, Omri Sharon pleaded guilty in November to falsifying corporate documents, perjury and violating party funding laws.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of fraud and breach of trust but demanded imprisonment on the other counts. The charges carried a maximum of five years in prison.

Omri Sharon waived his parliamentary immunity to face the charges and resigned his legislative seat in January.

In her ruling, Judge Edna Beckenstein rejected the younger Sharon’s appeals for leniency, made during pre-sentencing proceedings.

Beckenstein noted widespread complaints of a “political swamp” plaguing the country. “This swamp must be dried up,” she said.

She said the defendant’s goal was to raise “unlimited funds” for his father’s campaign, and that he stopped at nothing to reach that goal, including having his father sign false statements.

“In the name of adoring the father, is everything legitimate?” Beckenstein wrote.

The judge ordered Sharon to serve nine months in prison and pay a $64,000 fine. An additional nine months of prison time was suspended.

Because of his father’s condition, Omri Sharon won’t be required to report to jail until Aug. 31, according to the ruling.

His lawyer, Navit Negev, called the sentence “exceptionally harsh” and said she would appeal.