A suspected Israeli crime lord pleaded guilty Monday to being part of a racketeering enterprise that distributed Ecstasy pills and killed a man for stealing a large drug shipment, according to his defense attorney. Itzhak Abergil, 43, entered his plea in a Los Angeles federal courtroom as part of a plea agreement, defense attorney Mark Werksman said. He said that under the agreement, Abergil would serve a 10-year sentence. Sentencing is set for May 21. "The Israeli and U.S. governments have their boots on his neck with these cases, and if he didn't enter into an agreement like this he faced the risk of being obliterated and getting a life sentence," Werksman said. He added that it was an exaggeration to label his client as a crime boss. Abergil, his brother Meir Abergil, 58, and Israel Ozifa, 52, were arrested in 2008 in Israel after they were named in an indictment that alleged murder and international drug trafficking. Ozifa also pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of conspiracy to import Ecstasy, and is due for sentencing May 23. Prosecutors believe Itzhak Abergil was one of the largest importers of narcotics into the U.S. They said his family worked with another drug syndicate, the Jerusalem Network, as well as a Los Angeles gang to traffic Ecstasy. Federal agents intercepted some 100,000 Ecstasy pills at hubs in the Midwest that were destined for distribution in Southern California. The street price for the drugs was about $2 million. The indictment stated that the Itzhak Abergil and Jerusalem organizations had previously been involved in the largest bank embezzlement scheme in Israel's history and engaged in illegal activities in the U.S. to launder the proceeds of the scheme. Itzhak Abergil was also charged with racketeering conspiracy to murder Sami Atias, who was shot dead in 2003 in Sherman Oaks, California. During his guilty plea, Abergil said Atias was killed for interfering in a drug deal and theft. Meir Abergil was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011, and after time previously served in Israel was accounted for, he was returned to Israel. Another co-defendant, Moshe Malul, is scheduled for trial Sept. 25 on racketeering and murder charges. He is accused of hiring members of a street gang to murder Atias. Yet another co-defendant, Sasson Barashy, is scheduled for trial Nov. 27 on charges of racketeering, extortion and money laundering. Two co-defendants in the case, Yoram El-Al and Luis Sandoval, remain fugitives.
Suspected Israeli crime boss pleads guilty in LA
Itzhak Abergil pleads guilty to distributing Ecstasy pills and ordering a murder • Abergil believed to be one of the largest importers of the drug to the U.S.
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