Case draws attention to Israel's mob

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March 7, 2006

BY ARON HELLER

JERUSALEM -- The extradition of a suspected Israeli mob boss to face drug charges in Miami and New York is drawing new attention to Israel's brazen underworld, where gangsters have fired anti-tank missiles.

Israel's mob turf is so dangerous that the State Department has issued a travel advisory warning Americans of the dangers.

One top gangster, Zeev Rosenstein, was extradited to the United States on Monday for involvement in a drug ring that allegedly distributed more than 1 million Ecstasy pills.

U.S. prosecutors have called the short, squat Rosenstein one of the world's most wanted drug traffickers, and he's long been called No. 1 on Israel's most-wanted list.

Rosenstein, 51, has survived at least seven assassination attempts. Bystanders were not so lucky. In 2003, rivals set off a bomb on a Tel Aviv street, aiming for Rosenstein. He escaped with scratches, but three passersby were killed.

Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said authorities have set up a task force of detectives, justice officials and tax authorities, in an attempt to catch the criminals on tax violations -- the way Eliot Ness ultimately took down Al Capone.

"This is a long-term battle that requires plenty of patience. It won't be decided by 'knockout,' but rather by points," he said.

Most of the violence in recent years has allegedly revolved around rival families battling for control of lucrative gambling. Israel, with a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union, is also considered a major outpost of Russian organized crime. The most public feuds, and most heavily reported, have involved Rosenstein and his ally, Assi Abutbul, against two rival clans.

AP