One of Israel's top Middle Eastern pop singers, Margalit Tzanani, was arrested Tuesday on charges of violent extortion and conspiracy to commit a crime The Israeli superstar, 57, popularly known as Margol, was a recent judge on the top-rated television show "A Star Is Born," in which unknown singers compete for fame and a recording contract, similar to the American television show "American Idol." She spent Tuesday night in the Neve Tirza women's prison after police raided her house and arrested her and her son, Assaf Lavie. Tzanani and her son are suspected of hiring mobsters from the criminal organization allegedly headed by Amir Mulner in order to extort hundreds of thousands of shekels from her agent, Assaf Atagedi. In addition, police are investigating aspects of the case involving Tzanani's conduct as a judge on "A Star Is Born." On the basis of testimony from people involved in the show, police suspect that Tzanani may have taken advantage of her position as a top judge to promote a particular contestant, Liron Ramati, at the behest of a Mulner crime associate. Tzanani reportedly praised the singer when other judges criticized him and was allegedly instrumental in bringing him back onto the show after he was voted off. Ramati ultimately came in third last season. In addition to Tzanani and her son, investigators with the Economic Investigations Wing also arrested music producer Yossi Ben-David, who is suspected of mediating between Tzanani and Mulner's associates; Michael Hazan, who is considered to be Mulner's right-hand man; and Ofer Amar, allegedly a member of the crime organization. These three suspects are also charged with extortion under threat and conspiracy to commit a crime. On Wednesday a court responded to a police request to extend Tzanani's remand, extending it by nine days. Tzanani is suspected of approaching Mulner's organization through music producer Ben-David, who is being represented by lawyer Ronen Rosenblum, asking if they would help her obtain royalty fees rightly owed to her for her role as co-agent for 17-year-old singer Omer Adam and for songs her son wrote for the singer. Police suspect that mobsters hired by Tzanani explicitly threatened Atadegi, saying they would harm him and members of his family if he didn't pay her the money she is owed, with interest. Atagedi's associates said on Tuesday that he chose not to go to the police out of fear for his own and his family's safety. Tzanani was interrogated for several hours Tuesday at the headquarters of the Economic Investigations Wing in Lod. Among other things, she was asked to provide investigators with explanations as to why she allegedly approached criminal elements. Tzanani denied the accusations. "I have no connection to the crime world," she said. "It's just not true," she added a few hours after her arrest. "I don't know what they want from me and why they brought me here. I did not ask anyone to make threats, I did not send anyone to make threats, and I don't threaten people. I am a law-abiding woman. I solve my financial problems in a lawful way." "Shock and confusion" "You can see the shock and confusion on her face," said Tzanani's lawyer, Shachar Hetzroni. "Her whole world has been destroyed overnight. She did tell investigators that she has a financial dispute with her agent, but in her words, it's not a dispute that involved threats." The suspicions against Tzanani came about via a different undercover investigation against Mulner's organization. When Mulner was released from prison recently, police feared an underworld war, and therefore they decided to tighten oversight of the crime organization in an effort to put Mulner and some of his associates back behind bars. To this end, police engaged in eavesdropping and surveillance of Mulner's henchmen, which led to an indictment against four of them for beating a man who got into a conflict with an acquaintance of theirs over parking spots. One of these men was Ofer Amar, who was arrested Tuesday in the new case. More developments in the wings Over the course of the investigation, which included wiretapping, it became clear to investigators that the singer and her agent were having a financial dispute which Tzanani chose to solve not through the courts but by turning to the underworld. At one point, when her involvement in the affair had not fully emerged, Tzanani was given a warning by police and told to distance herself from underworld figures. Police said Tuesday that this is a serious case and that additional developments will be forthcoming, including additional arrests and investigations of people in the entertainment world.
