Friends of Ours

Gunmen Whack Israeli Mob Boss Francois Abutbul

Last night two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the car in which mob boss Francois Abutbul and his bodyguard were driving after it pulled into a gas station in Netanya, Israel north of Tel Aviv as reported by Yaakov Lappin for The Jerusalem Post.  Abutbul died as he was rushed to a hospital, and his bodyguard suffered minor injuries.  Although police set up roadblocks within minutes the two gunmen had already fled and remain at large.

Crime scene photo

Abutbul was released from prison last December after serving two and a half years for assaulting his wife; however, not everyone welcomed his return to the streets as then reported by The Jerusalem Post: he "received a message from people in the underworld demanding that he leave the country of his life will be at risk, said police." Last summer three of his restaurants were torched "in what could be the opening salvo in renewed battles between crime organizations in the city" as then reported by Yaniv Kubovich for Haaretz.

Earlier this year reputed gangster Rico Shirazi was arrested on suspicion of planning to whack Abutbul although he was later released for lack of evidence.

Francois became head of the Abutbul crime family after his brother Asi was sentenced to thirteen years in 2009 on a conviction under the Fight Against Organized Crime Law involving several counts of extortion, arson, unlawful imprisonment and financial crimes.  Their father Felix was murdered by a rival gangster in 2002, and their uncle Charlie was targeted in unsuccessful 2008 and 2010 assassination attempts.

Israeli Police: Illegals Found At Mobster's Bakery

Francois Abutbul, a reputed mob boss who stakes his claim in Netanya, Israel, was arrested last week "after a raid on his bakery found that his workers were illegal" as reported by Melanie Lidman for The Jerusalem Post: "When police arrived on the premises, they discovered that most of the workers were from the West Bank and in Israel illegally with no work permits."

Abutbul was released from prison just last December after serving two and a half years for assaulting his wife; however, not everyone welcomed his return to the streets as then reported by The Jerusalem Post: he "received a message from people in the underworld demanding that he leave the country of his life will be at risk, said police." Last summer three of his restaurants were torched "in what could be the opening salvo in renewed battles between crime organizations in the city" as then reported by Yaniv Kubovich for Haaretz.

Earlier this month reputed gangsters Shalom Domrani and Rico Shirazi were arrested on suspicion of planning to whack Abutbul. Although the pair was released for lack of evidence they nevertheless were slapped with a restraining order to keep them out of Natanya.

Gunmen Open Fire On Reputed Israeli Mob Boss

Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on Charlie Abutbul in his car in Netanya, and the reputed crime family boss escaped unharmed as reported by Yaakov Lappin for The Jerusalem Post.

Reputed Israeli Mob Boss Charlie Abutbul Arrested

Reputed Israeli mob boss Charlie Abutbul was arrested with an alleged crew on Sunday night in Netanya on suspicion that they were on their way to whack a member of the rival Karajeh family as reported by Ben Hartman for The Jerusalem Post.

Mob Power Vacuum In Israel

Eleven out of Israel's top 18 reputed mob bosses are in prison, and Israel Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen warned "that warring intermediary gangsters could become more violent as they try to make their way to the top tier of the underworld" as reported by Yaakov Lappin for The Jerusalem Post:

Eleven mob leaders out of a recognized 18 organization heads have been put behind bars in recent years, according to police figures, while approximately 57 mid-level mobsters are in jail. The wave of arrests have led to new conflicts, such as the 2009 street brawl between southern crime lord Shalom Domrani and Avner Harari, described by police as “the No. 1 assassin” in Israeli gangland. Meanwhile, the second generation of the Shirazi, Alperson and Abutbul organizations are now vying for control and trying to create their own power base. Police have over the past two years arrested Amir Mulner of Ramat Gan, Shai Shirazi of Netanya (son of Netanya underworld boss Rico Shirazi), and Itzik Bar Muha of Jerusalem.