Ex-LAPD officer staged police raid for crypto heist, prosecutor says
One night last December, six men met at a home in the Hollywood Hills to plot a kidnapping, prosecutors say.
Their alleged target was a 17-year-old operator of a cryptocurrency business. His abductors, authorities charge, included a felon with ties to Israeli organized crime and a former officer from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Jane Brownstone on Friday disclosed details of the alleged kidnapping at bail hearings for the alleged gangster, Gabby Ben, and the former officer, Eric Halem. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Ben, 51, has twice been convicted of fraud and deported to Israel, according to court records. Along with his blue jail jumpsuit, he wore a yarmulke and towel around…
