OLMERT DEMANDED DOUGH FOR SPEAKING AT CONFERENCE

Another revelation about Olmert's obsession with money:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert demanded $5,000 dollars after speaking at a fund raising event for an organization that runs the Sarel IDF volunteer program, Channel 10 reported Wednesday.

The TV channel quoted Sarel founder Col. Aharon Davidi (ret.), a former OC Paratroops and Infantry, as saying that in 1994, when Olmert was Jerusalem mayor, Davidi asked him to speak at an event in New York.

According to the report, Olmert agreed and said that not only would he come, but he would also bring then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Davidi, who also served as former prime minister Ariel Sharon's deputy in the IDF Paratroopers, said that two months after the event, he got a call from Olmert's office demanding $5,000 to cover the then-Jerusalem mayor's expenses.

A shocked Davidi said that he could not pay such an amount since his organization existed on donations alone.

Eventually, Davidi compromised on $2,000.

An Olmert adviser told Channel 10 that he didn't have the means to either confirm or deny the report since the prime minister was on vacation and was therefore unavailable for comment.

Heh. I'd say Olmert's just too embarrassed to talk about it anymore.