Corruption scandal in Attorney Generals office heading to court

The release from detention of  four alleged narco-traffickers  in Azuero, was planned at least three months before, according to prosecutors.

It became one of the biggest corruption scandals  within the Public Ministry (MP) and led to the resignation of the stand-in Attorney General, Giuseppe Bonissi.

The Assistant Prosecutor to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court has sent a request for the corruption trial of Eva Lorentz the Ministry’s former head of Human Resources, Milagros Valdes, the former drugs prosecutor of Herrera and Los Santos,   attorney Ballesteros Alcibiades, and the four accused who were released.

The prosecutor asked for dismissal of charges against the senior prosecutor of Chiriqui, Nedelka Diaz and his son Angel Castillo Diaz.

According to investigators, Ballesteros proposed the plan to Valdes on September 15, 2010, when he worked in the Procurement Administrative Tribunal.

In her confession, Valdes said Ballesteros said he would be named executive secretary and later drug prosecutor for  Azuero if the accused were released.

Two days after that conversation, Lorentz  called Valdes to inform her of the vacancy in Azuero. On October 1, Valdés took over as interim Azuero court clerk with a salary of $900.

Later that same month she was given tenure, and November 22 was named Drugs Prosecutor.

According to the prosecution, the promotions were ordered by Lorentz, using the name of Bonissi without consultation. On the day of her appointment as prosecutor, Valdés took the case of the four defendants, who earlier had refused to talk.

Three days later, she released them and then sent the case to the Azuer court with a request for dismissal.

Three of the defendants are now  fugitives and the fourth died.

Bonissi, meanwhile, said he never ordered the  Valdes appointment and drug prosecutors were "cruelly deceived" by Lorentz.

No one knows how much money was involved in this scenario says La Prensa.