Reputed mob boss Meir Abergil set to return to Israel

Reputed Israeli crime kingpin, Meir Abergil, is expected to arrive in Israel on Thursday afternoon as a free man after signing a plea bargain in the U.S. in which he confessed to extortion against alleged mobster Asi Vaknin and his brother Hai, who reached a plea bargain with American authorities to testify in court against the Abergil family.

As part of the plea deal, Abergil was sentenced to 42 months prison time, which he had already served while under arrest in Israel and the U.S. "My extradition was a disgrace," said Abergil as he left prison. "The Americans decided to release me not because they wanted to be nice, but because I am innocent."

Abergil and his brother Yitzhak were extradited to the U.S. in January this year and flown to Los Angeles under heavy security. Along with alleged crime figures Sasson Barashi, Moshe Melul and Yisrael Ozifa, they were extradited after the appeal they submitted against their extradition was rejected by the Supreme Court in Israel.

The indictment, served against them on July 23, 2010, listed four counts: ordering the murder of drug dealer Sami Atias in Los Angeles, laundering money embezzled from the Israel Trade Bank in the U.S., extortion of Israeli business people and the selling of Ecstasy pills. Ultimately, U.S. authorities agreed to clear Abergil on the counts of heading a crime organization and money laundering. However, the count of aiding extortion stuck.

Along with Yitzhak and his other brother Avraham, Meir Abergil is alleged to be one of the leaders of the Abergil organized crime family, which is suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, murder, extortion, and other crimes in both Israel and around the world. The group is reputed to be one of Israel's most notorious criminal organizations, as well as one of the 40 biggest players in the U.S.'s illegal drug trade.