"Even though he's silent, he refused to say": The secret that kept 'the Wolf' out of prison for so many years
An in-depth article about Ze'ev Rosenstein, a leading figure in the Israeli underworld, and the police pursuit of him. The article describes multiple assassination attempts, his absolute silence during interrogations, and the way he managed to evade conviction for years until he was extradited to the US in an international drug case.
An in-depth article by Alon Hachmon in Maariv revisits the pursuit of Ze'ev Rosenstein, a central figure in the Israeli underworld. The article describes how Rosenstein survived at least seven assassination attempts, including a car bomb attack on Yehuda Halevi Street in Tel Aviv in December 2003, which killed three innocent civilians. The main interviewee is Avi Neuman, a former investigator with the Tel Aviv District Police, who describes the difficulty of arresting Rosenstein due to a lack of evidence and people who refused to talk. Rosenstein himself maintained his right to silence in an extreme manner, even carrying a note reading "maintaining the right to silence" instead of saying it aloud. The turning point in the investigation came when criminals from his circle became state witnesses. Rosenstein was extradited to the US in March 2006 in the MDMA import case, pleaded guilty in a plea deal, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Subsequently, an additional five years were added in the "North Star" case, bringing his total sentence to 17 years in prison.