One case involves millionaire businessman and Likud Party activist David Appel. According to the allegations, Appel turned to Sharon in the late 1990s, when he was Israeli foreign minister, and to Ehud Olmert - now Sharon's deputy prime minister, then mayor of Jerusalem - seeking their influence in purchasing a Greek island that Appel wanted to develop into a resort complex.

At the same time, and not by coincidence, Appel offered Sharon's son Gilad a $400,000 consultancy contract. Not bad for a 30-year-old with no business record. Appel supposedly also agreed that as the Greek project progressed, he would invest $3 million in the Sharon family ranch.

Gilad Sharon has stubbornly refused to answer any police questions on the matter or allow authorities to search for documents on the grounds of the Sharon ranch, where he lives with his father. His reasoning: Daddy Sharon enjoys parliamentary immunity.

But even a prime minister's son can stall things just so long. Tel Aviv courts have ordered Gilad to hand over documents relating to another messy business: a $1.5 million loan that he and brother Omri, who is a member of Israel's parliament, arranged with South African-based businessman and family buddy Cyril Kern.

The money was to be used as collateral for a bank loan to repay illegal contributions that Omri had obtained for their father's 1999 primary campaign. Kern now claims it was a personal gift to help Sharon's ranch through rough times.

As if all that weren't embarrassing enough, Sharon himself recently had his knuckles rapped by Israel's state controller for failing to remove himself from government discussions on the rezoning of farm lands - a process that could affect the Sharon ranch in central Israel. The prime minister doesn't stand accused of any crime, just of very poor judgment.

Sharon's woes have been welcome news to his political rivals in the Labor Party. They have been so gleeful, in fact, that party leader Shimon Peres has warned them to back off and let justice run its course.

Like most democracies, Israel has had its share of financial and political scandals - many of them involving illegal fund-raising for electoral campaigns. Sharon's predecessor, Ehud Barak, faces just such charges.

But Israel always has been proud that, unlike others in the region - especially Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's regime - its political leaders are not above the law.

Sharon must move quickly if he wants to remain in office, keep the peace process moving and maintain Israel's reputation as a bastion of justice and democracy.