Below is a summary of the cases between the Israeli Bridge Federation and Lotan Fisher and/or Ron Schwartz over the years
1) In December 2003 Fisher was accused of forging results and of unsportsmanlike behavior. The Juniors Committee decided to suspend him for a year. When he appealed the decision, the Committee decided to suspend him from the final of the Israeli championships and put him on probation for a year.
2) On February 2004, Fisher was accused of unsportsmanlike behavior because during the 2004 Tel Aviv International festival, he loudly abused his then partner, Mr Ram Soffer, and called him a faggot. As a result he was suspended from the festival and the disciplinary committee suspended him for a month till March 2004 and extended the probation to a further year.
3) In July 2004 Fisher and his partner Ron Schwarz win the three day Shaufel Cup with a huge lead over the second placed pair. During this event a significant number of experts complained that they were cheating. The Sports Captain, Mr Micha Amit, was shown many suspicious hands from that event and he decided to form a committee to investigate the matter. The committee met on the 1st of August 2004 and decided that Fisher-Schwarz did not provide a satisfactory explanation for the actions they had taken in the hands in question. Fisher and Schwartz appealed against the legal standing of the committee. The appeal was denied but the Sports Captain decided that the proof of guilt is not beyond all reasonable doubt and terminated the matter.
4) On December the 9th 2005 the Disciplinary Committee of the Israeli Bridge Federation heard a complaint that Ron Schwarz forged the results of a match that he played with Shimshon Horowitz in the qualifiers to select the Israeli Team. Schwarz had originally started the event partnering Lotan Fisher but following a heated exchange, Lotan had abruptly left the venue in the middle of the competition and Mr Horowitz was drafted in as a last minute replacement. The court acknowledges that Mr Horowitz was completely unaware of Mr Schwarz’s actions.
(Follow lengthy testimonies from all parties involved)
The conclusions:
It is clear that this case involves a very serious infraction: as the defendant on his own admission changed the results, something which would have compromised the fair play of the whole competition.
Furthermore it is noted that while he admitted that he changed the results, Mr Schwarz lied about the fact that the result of the specific match had no effect on other players.
The verdict
As such we decide to suspend Ron Schwarz for a year from any bridge activity in the Israeli bridge federation. Further he is to be suspended for two more years from any activity related to playing or taking part in trials leading to representing Israel in any capacity. Following the end of the sentence, Mr Schwarz will be held on probation for five years.
5) On December 9th 2005 the Disciplinary Committee of the Israeli Bridge Federation heard a complaint that on the 24th of January 2005, Lotan Fisher whilst taking part to the qualifiers for the Israeli team, upon collecting boards to play from the common table, deliberately took the slips from the board indicating the cards of his partner with the clear intent to cheat. When confronted by the TD and asked to get up, he refused and eventually the missing slip was found on his seat.
(Follow lengthy testimonies from all parties involved)
Upon hearing all the facts the committee finds that It is obvious from the circumstances that there was a clear intent to cheat on his part. Therefore we convict Lotan Fisher of cheating and improper behavior for refusing to comply with the instructions of the TD and we issue the following sentence:
Two years suspension from any activity of the IBF. 18 more months of suspension from any activity related to participation in competitions leading to representing Israel in any capacity. Following the end of the sentence, five years of probation.
6) In February 2009, Ron Segev (a member of the Israeli Juniors team) submitted a complaint including a number of suspicious hands played by Fisher – Schwarz in recent national events and the very different of play from national events to the coaching sessions for juniors that they both attend. The committee recommended that the pair should split and not play together. If they are not prepared to do that, the committee wishes to receive any other suspicious hands by the pair so that they can be examined by a qualified panel.
For those of you fluent in hebrew, here are word files with more detailed information about the cases above.