Become a Member
Israel

Gang wars fear after mafia boss is killed

Police fear that this week's slaying of a top mobster in Tel Aviv will lead to an all-out crime war in Israeli cities.

November 20, 2008 11:55
A police officer walks away from the bombed car as a colleague examines the body of  Yaakov Alperon
2 min read

Police fear that this week's slaying of a top mobster in Tel Aviv will lead to an all-out crime war in Israeli cities.

On Monday, 53-year-old Yaacov Alperon, a former boxer and one of Israel's most infamous mobsters, died in a meticulously planned car bombing in central Tel Aviv, shortly after attending a court hearing for one of his sons, suspected of running an extortion racket. Two bystanders were injured.

Yossi Sedbon, a former Tel Aviv police chief, said that the murder would set off a wave of violence throughout the criminal world and that attacks against the family may continue.

"He had many enemies and his sons already said at his funeral that they will ‘chop off the head' of those behind their father's murder," Mr Sedbon said.