'Gur's 'operations officer', Elazar Vigdorowitz, who is wanted for questioning in Israel on suspicion of serious extortion and fraud crimes, faked a heartbreaking event and fled to Europe.
According to a report today (Tuesday) by Avishai Greenzig, legal commentator for Channel I24, Wigderowitz managed to escape from the clutches of the Israeli police last night.
Wigderowitz, who was deported to Israel from New York by federal police officers, who escorted him to the plane and recorded that he did not flee the flight - faked a heart attack during the flight last night, causing the plane to make an emergency landing in Dublin, Ireland.
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So, Wigderowitz got off the plane and fled.
The police officers who were waiting for him at Ben Gurion Airport with an arrest warrant were forced to return empty-handed.
According to Greenzig, "In the background - negligence on the part of the international department of the prosecutor's office, which did not issue an Interpol red notice against him, allowing his arrest abroad. Now the police are trying to track down Wigderowitz, who escaped from his clutches abroad for the second time.".
Vigdorovich was arrested about a month ago in New York State, during an attempt to infiltrate from Canada to the United States, through the border crossing at Niagara Falls - and was sentenced to about two weeks of probation.
After a hearing before a federal judge, 33-year-old Vigdorovich was transferred to U.S. immigration authorities, awaiting deportation to Israel.
The person arrested along with Vigdorowicz is attorney Israel Andan, a dual Israeli and American citizen, a resident of Beit Shemesh, who is suspected of attempted smuggling and could face a heavy sentence of up to five years in prison for the act.
This is not the first time that Vigdorovich has gotten into trouble with the law under unusual circumstances. About eight years ago, his name made headlines in a serious case in Ukraine, in which cannabis was planted in the suitcases of a couple from the Gur Hasidic community, in order to have them arrested. A police investigation cleared the couple of any suspicion and revealed the involvement of Vigdorovich, who confessed to the acts as part of a plea bargain and served four years in prison.
The current infiltration route was carefully planned, after Vigdorovich, who left Israel, realized that he would not be able to enter the United States legally, as his visa had been revoked due to his criminal record and his applications for an electronic visa had been repeatedly rejected.
More than a month ago, he and attorney Andan flew from Warsaw, the capital of Poland, to Toronto, Canada, with the aim of crossing the land border. The plan went awry when, during a border inspection, Vigdorowicz was discovered hiding behind a pile of luggage in the trunk of the rented jeep that Andan was driving.
