Key witness testifies in Olmert case

A US businessman at the center of a bribery case against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert testified yesterday he gave the Israeli leader cash-stuffed envelopes including personal loans that were never repaid.

"I never expected anything personally. I never had any personal benefits from this relationship whatsoever," Morris Talansky told the Jerusalem District Court, estimating he had passed $150,000 to the veteran politician over a 15-year period.

Talansky, 75, gave preliminary testimony, at the request of prosecutors, in a case that has raised questions about Olmert's political survival at a time when he is talking peace with the Palestinians and pursuing indirect negotiations with Syria.