Alleged Israeli mob boss Shalom Domrani has decided to leave the country, citing non-stop police harassment and repeated arrests. Domrani has been residing in Morocco for the past three months developing businesses with Moroccan counterparts, his lawyer says.
Attorney Moshe Sherman said on Sunday Domrani will return to Israel soon after having established several business enterprises in Morocco.
With a reputation as a crime boss and a top target for the Negev and Lachish central police commands, Domrani has been a suspect in several recent criminal cases but has been released from detention after investigations yielded no indictments against him.
Last November, however, Domrani was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Beersheba District Court, in a case in which other criminals were sentenced as well due to their confessions as part of a plea bargain deal. After an investigation by police's elite Lahav 433 investigative unit and an indictment, Domrani was convicted of conspiring to commit a crime, extortion, badgering a witness and involvement in monopolizing the natural gas industry in Sderot and its surrounding areas.
Domrani and the other defendants denied playing any role in the crimes and the alleged crime boss spent time in jail, although he did not complete his entire sentence in prison.
A close friend said that after his release from prison, Domrani decided to travel to Morocco to open an agricultural business there and to escape the wrath of police units in the south that he said were focusing on him as a primary target.
In August 2011, police investigators asked Israeli singer and television personality Margalit Tzanani about her connection with Domrani. Tzanani said she did meet him, but added that the meeting was purely for business. Tzanani was suspected of violently extorting her agent Assaf Atadegi, of conspiring to commit a crime and of making threats.
Tzanani was eventually convicted of extortion by the Tel Aviv District Court and, as part of a plea bargain that excluded the original charge of conspiracy to commit a crime, did not serve time in prison.
