Shauki Abu Latif, who was elected head of the Rama Local Council and later suspended amid legal proceedings, was convicted by the Haifa District Court on Monday after admitting, as part of a plea agreement, to assisting extortion by threats, fraud, and breach of trust.
The case centered on the collection of protection money from factory owners in the Rama area, who, according to the amended indictment, had been subjected for months to gunfire, arson, and threats on their lives.
The factory owners turned to Abu Latif because of his position as head of the local council and his ties to members of the Abu Latif family, hoping he could help stop the violence.
According to the indictment, Abu Latif instead relayed messages from the extortionists to the factory owners. The messages stated that the original “debt” had been higher, but had been reduced to NIS 1 million in exchange for ending the violence.
Prosecution to seek 11 months jail sentence
The money was to be paid in installments. The first payment, NIS 40,000 in cash, was handed over in Abu Latif’s office, according to the indictment.
Under the plea agreement, the prosecution said it would ask the court to sentence Abu Latif to 11 months in prison, along with a suspended sentence, a fine, and a finding that his actions carried moral turpitude.
The court has not yet sentenced Abu Latif or ruled on whether his actions carried moral turpitude.
The case was filed in 2023; at the time, the indictment alleged that factory owners had turned to Abu Latif and others for help after violent incidents against them. The case was part of a broader police investigation into protection-money collection in the North.
