Billionaire Israeli diamond dealer Lev Leviev is the visiting businessman for whom police shut down a lane of Lincoln Tunnel at the behest of a major Mayor de Blasio fundraiser.
Leviev, who’s known as the “King of Diamonds” and owns pricey jewelry boutiques in New York, London, Dubai and Singapore, was given a police escort through the tunnel after de Blasio’s shady friend, Jeremy Reichberg, arranged through his NYPD contacts to close one of the lanes, sources said.
It was unclear when the shutdown occurred, but law enforcement sources said the request did not go through official channels and there was no documentation about the incident.
Reichberg was arrested Monday in connection with the sweeping federal corruption probe focusing on police officials allegedly taking gifts for favors and the mayor’s fundraising activities.
Under the criminal indictment, Reichberg and four police officials were slapped with federal charges that could land each of them in prison for a long time.
The 59-year-old Leviev is a renowned investor in precious stones whose direct competitor is international diamond powerbroker The De Beers Group.
Born in Uzbekistan to a prominent Jewish family, Leviev moved to Israel when he was 15 and got his start as an apprentice at a diamond polishing business.
After a stint in the Israeli military, Leviev opened his first diamond company and soon expanded his business to the former Soviet Union and Europe.
He currently owns several diamond mines in Africa and Russia and is the chairman and primary shareholder of the international real estate firm — Africa Israel.
Reichberg’s partner, Jona Rechnitz, who is now cooperating with the feds in the corruption probe, once worked for Africa Israel.
Did Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev have the NYPD close a lane for him in New York’s Lincoln tunnel?
According the the New York Post, that is exactly what federal authorities are investigating as part of a larger probe into corruption in the NYPD.
Details of the incident came from a cooperating witness who’s been identified by sources as Jona Rechnitz, a real-estate developer who once worked for Leviev’s company Africa Israel, the Post reported Wednesday.
Rechnitz told the feds that the escort was arranged by his pal Jeremy Reichberg, “using his connections in local law enforcement agencies,” court papers say.
The complaint doesn’t say when the lane closure occurred.
Law enforcement sources said Reichberg’s request did not go through official channels and there was no documentation about the incident.
But pulling it off would be an exceedingly easy maneuver that could be accomplished by a single cop on foot working in concert with the cops in the car or cars, a source said.
“All you’d need to do, would be to move two or three traffic plastic cones for a few minutes, let the person through and then move back the traffic cones a few minutes later after you wanted to re-open the lane,” the source said.
Reichberg was arrested Monday, along with NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and Deputy Inspector James Grant.
A lawyer for one of Leviev’s daughters denied that Leviev had received the police escort.
Leviev, 59, is a renowned Isareli investor in precious stones. Born in Uzbekistan to a prominent Jewish family, Leviev moved to Israel when he was 15 and got his start as an apprentice at a diamond polishing business.
After a stint in the IDF, Leviev went into the diamond business and is credited with breaking the De Beers Group’s stranglehold on the mining industry.
He currently owns mines in Africa and Russia and operates pricey jewelry boutiques in New York, London, Dubai and Singapore.