ISRAELIS SKIP OUT ON DRUG TRIAL

MIAMI (AP) -- Three Israeli citizens hopped an El Al flight to Jerusalem
over the holidays, skipping out on a $44 million money-laundering trial
Monday that promised to link the Israeli mob to a Colombian cocaine cartel.

With just one defendant left and a busy trial calendar, U.S. District Judge
Lenore Nesbitt postponed the trial until June 8.

But since Israeli law bars extradition of that country's citizens, the
future of the Miami money-laundering case remained uncertain.

The stalled extradition from Israel -- in an unrelated case -- of a
Maryland murder suspect also fed concerns over the ability of U.S.
prosecutors to bring back the Miami case suspects: an Israeli couple and a
man with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Gregorie, prosecutor in the laundering
case, said Monday he fears that criminals with Israeli citizenship would
use their own country as ``a safe haven, and abuse that protection in
Israel.''

Yehuda and Kineret Kashti and Danny Fisher all faced trial on charges that
cash was laundered through Kashti family jewelry businesses in Miami. Gym
bags filled with bundles of $20s were dumped up to three times week with
bank tellers who were told that the cash came from jewelry sales.

Prosecutors said the laundering was masterminded in the United States by
Mrs. Kashti's father, Eli Tisona. Federal officials believe Tisona is a
high-profile figure in Israeli organized crime.

Investigators tracked some of the tainted cash to a fish company owned by
Tisona and Phanor Arizabaleta, a reputed leader of Colombia's Cali drug
cartel. Smugglers allegedly tried to ship frozen liquid cocaine inside gel
packs that were used to chill seafood shipments.

Tisona was detained in Colombia after he was indicted in October 1996, sent
to Miami and has been jailed pending trial. He's now the only defendant now
available for trial in the case.

The judge agreed Monday to issue bench warrants for the three fugitives,
and Gregorie said he was filing for Interpol arrest warrants, too.

At the time they fled to Israel, the Kashtis were free on $150,000 bond
each. Fisher was free on $35,000 bond.

All three had complied with bond conditions requiring them to report to
U.S. authorities in person twice a week, and once by phone until Christmas
week.

``It appears that they traveled on the 22nd or the 23rd,'' of December,
Gregorie said. A pretrial agency that tracks defendants out on bond told
prosecutors on Christmas Eve that their three defendants were missing.

Fisher and the Kashtis had surrendered their passports, as required, Gregorie.

But, he added: ``El Al will allow Israelis to fly back to Israel with
nothing more than a citizenship paper.''

Dan Haezrachy, the deputy Israeli consul in Miami, said he was not familiar
with the case. But, he said, U.S. prosecutors wanting extraditions will
have to ``approach the Israeli police, and then a decision shall be made in
Israel.''

Still, Gregorie said he remained hopeful.

``The Israeli consulate has been very helpful thus far, so we're hoping
we'll be able to do something,'' the prosecutor said.