'Talansky allegedly paid PM's hotel tab'

'NY Times' says businessman picked up Olmert's $4,717.49 bill for 1-night stay at Ritz-Carlton.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
olmert talansky 224.88 (photo credit: Channel 10)
olmert talansky 224.88
(photo credit: Channel 10)
New York Jewish businessman Morris Talansky, the central figure in the illicit funding allegations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, allegedly paid for the prime minister's $4,717.49 tab at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The newspaper said that the new details about Talansky's relationship with Olmert had emerged from court records in New York, including papers filed in State Supreme Court in Nassau County concerning a business disagreement between Talansky and a minibar company he assisted in 2005. According to the papers, Talansky instructed the company to pick up the $4,717.49 hotel tab incurred at the hotel by "a senior Israeli cabinet member that had no relation to the business." The New York Times quoted the company's lawyer, William J. Davis, as saying that the guest during that one-night stay in 2005 was Olmert. However, he said he did not know if the prime minister was aware of who ultimately paid the bill. On Saturday, Olmert remained defiant in the face of the new investigation against him. "I will continue to lead Israel's agenda," he said at a conference of Kadima and Zionist youth in Kfar Truman. He also referred to Friday's mortar shell fatality Jimmy Kdoshim and reiterated his pledge to bring peace with the Palestinians. "We must lead Israel to a situation wherein it will make peace with its rivals and enemies in order to bring an end to the wars that have plagued it since before its inception," Olmert said. "For now, we will continue to do what must be done for the sake of Israel's military deterrence. We mourn for all of Israel's dead, as well as for Jimmy Kedoshim, who was killed by a mortar shell. We will not cease our tireless efforts until the residents of the South are safe." "The other side," he added, "knows how strong and painful the blow that lands on it can be."