Attorney agreed to pay $ 56 million
The Office of Hill agreed with the mayor UDI Mario Olavarria, its former chief of staff, Vice President Tottus and a real estate agent, to avoid prosecution for corruption and bribery, in return for reinstating the municipality more than $ 100 million was paid in bribes to authorize the installation of a supermarket. The CDE is opposed to the agreement and argued that Olavarria and returned the $ 56 million for that country, but by a decision of the Comptroller that has nothing to do with this case. The body will resort to the Court of Appeal to try to reverse the deal. SOURCE
CIPER
Santiago CHILE
By: Christopher Peña
Published: 28.04.2011
Olavarría Mayor Mario Rodriguez and his lawyers and staff from the City of Hill were happy outside the courthouse. They laughed and commented cheerfully details hearing Thursday that the mayor got the corruption and bribery charges against him and which was entered into will be lifted on payment of just over 56 million and the firm monthly for one year. Olavarria
obtained conditional suspension of the case which continued to collect a bribe of over a hundred million in exchange for authorizing the installation of a supermarket Tottus to be built on municipal land. The same fate befell his former chief of staff, Domingo Soto Lopez, executive vice president of Tottus Francisco Leyton Francione, and Nabil Mansour Lelesdakis realtor.
The three were involved in payments amounting Mayor to 6 000 UF. The three also left the courthouse smiling, got rid of justice by committing to joint payment of 60 million. Exactly half of the amounts involved in the crime.
In good accounts, defrauded monies were returned by people who were charged with the crime. However, despite the history that weighed against him, these people were acquitted of all guilt, without even having admitted liability in the event.
In this controversial resolution, which was opposed by the State Defense Council (CDE), was recorded the crime but not its perpetrators.
The nolle prosequi was the result of an agreement between representatives of the accused and the prosecutor Mauricio Vergara Hill. He lauded the agreement on the fact that the defendants exhibited low penalties, which would justify the decision accepted by the Court Hill Guarantee.
While research conducted since 2008 the fiscal Pablo Ortiz met strong evidence against the mayor, his chief of staff and two businessmen, it was not until April 2010 that occurred formalizations. Not by the prosecutor Ortiz, but his colleague Alicia Ascencio, who took the case after the other left the prosecution.
Among other information, the prosecutor considered millionaires Ascencio deposits made by Mansour, Tottus realtor, the mayor's chief of staff, fellow activist Domingo Soto UDI. This, in turn, transferred to Olavarria, between September 2005 and mid-2008, deposits of about 130 million.
In his statement to prosecutors, the mayor claimed the deposits to a financial hardship that would have been the product of their marital separation. Under that assumption, his deputy would have paid millions. Ascencio
formalized prosecutor suspects fraud with the same background that the prosecutor had Ortiz for months. Under the leadership of the fiscal things seemed very complicated for the mayor Olavarria. Even more so considering that in another parallel case for irregularities in registration certificates had been formalized Débora Sepúlveda and Carlos Garcia, administrator and city clerk, respectively. Second and third in the hierarchy of the municipality. In this research millionaires discovered deposits among the former chief of staff to Mayor and City Manager. Deposits that were justified as loans and payments for personal services. And as in the case of Tottus recently the Office of Hill agreed with the defendants, who reinstated part of the amounts involved in exchange for avoiding a trial.
are not the only questions which impacted upon the former chief of staff to Mayor Olvarría. An investigation of Ciper realized other businesses with the mayor that favored López Soto.
Tottus The case was the only one legally committed to the mayor. However, because the fiscal Ascencio went to antenatal leave in recent months the case was taken by Mauricio Vergara. The same tax Colina was agreed with defense attorneys and the Thursday before a judge Guarantee, defended him against the opposition of the attorney Alma Sanchez, representative of the CDE. Attorney Sanchez
not only opposed the agreement but the terms. At the hearing argued that the 56 million corresponding to Olavarría actually already been returned by the mayor, but not for the bribe for the installation of Tottus, but because a decision of the Comptroller forced him to repay that amount due to inconsistencies in his salary.
"This amount has nothing to do with what we are talking in this case, is an undue amount already paid (for Olavarría) ordered by the Comptroller," he argued at the hearing counsel for the CDE Alma Sánchez. It was learned later, yesterday the committee decided CDE criminal appeal to the Court of Appeal to try to reverse the conditional suspension the cause.
addition, questioning the nature of the agreement reached by the Attorney General, the representative noted that CDE was Ximena Chong, head of the Economic Crimes Unit of the Office North Central, which depends on the prosecution of Hill, who in a recent interview with the newspaper La Tercera said the settlement agreements where there is corruption offenses involved "must take some kind of sacrifice by the people who access the alternative outlet for that, from that perspective, inhibit future behavior" .
Vergara Then the prosecutor defended the validity of the agreement, noting that the 56 million returned by Olavarria correspond to the amount defrauded.
The agreement was already cooked days before. In turn, representatives of the accused endorsed the conditions in general. Matias Balmaceda, counsel for the Mayor Olavarria, rejected the arguments of the complainant and made clear that although money was returned, "there is no acceptance of anything, there is no penalty here."
then agreed on the payment. Then came the hugs, sighs and smiles.
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