Cash delivered in black bag by Panama lawyer Italy files

Money  allegedly being delivered in a dark bag by a lawyer related to Panama’s president is among the latest revelations in  documents of Italian prosecutors.

La Prensa reports a meeting between Mauro Velocci and Ricardo Martinelli’s son, relating  to an $8 million luxury helicopter is quoted in the record of research of the Naples prosecutor involving international corruption, and Valter Lavítola.

In the account of Velocci to Italian prosecutors about the encounter, which appears at page 203 of the record,  it is noted that Rica Martinelli (as he calls himself to distinguish himself from his father, President Ricardo Martinelli) was at a meeting held in "the office of Super 99."

Prosecutors note that the meeting was held February 12, 2011, at the offices of "the company owned by the Martinelli family," where they talked about the acquisition of a helicopter, presumably for the president of Panama, as well as details of a proposed prison.

"I met Martinelli’s  son in the morning, in the general offices of Super 99 ( A company owned by the Martinelli family) and  he asked me  from whom I had explicitly requested the information on the helicopter," said Velocci.

Later in the document: “ Lavítola asked me to do the necessary arrangements to purchase a helicopter for President Martinelli (and) gave me the exact data on the chosen model," said Velocci.

On February 9, 2011, continues the story, “Lavítola wrote an email to Martinelli’s son  to inform him that he had been called ‘urgently”, because I would have to order the chosen helicopter as the time required for delivery was very long."

Later the record (page 332) explains that there was an "effort" to acquire a helicopter "to give to Martinelli."

The task assigned to Velocci  by Lavítola  was to provide the helicopter promised at the time by Augusta Westland (a subsidiary of Finmeccanica) as part of the purchase of six helicopters by the Government of Panama.

According to Velocci, Lavítola commented that "the helicopter had been promised but had not been delivered as a precaution, because of a judicial investigation into  the president of Finmeccanica, Pier Guarguaglini, and his wife Marina Grossi, president of Selex.

Prosecutors seized a Velocci computer Velocci twith "electronic correspondence between Lavítola and Rich Martinelli, in which he argued precisely about the helicopters and the prisons."

Prosecutors found the emails … "An integral part of the statements of the information of  December 22 (2011), represents … documentary evidence of the relationship Lavítola-Martinelli, and therefore, that was not bragging by Lavítola

Two new names have emerged from the investigation in Naples. One is the Cuban-American businessman Roger Oruña, identified in the documents to which La Prensa had as "a person trusted by the president,” and Francis Martinelli (Frankie), a lawyer and in the president's family.

According to those documents (folio 11), both played an "important role" during the negotiation process of the failed $ 176 million contract for modular prisons Svemark company.

In support cited the alleged "illegal  pay offs" awarded to Panamanian officials as part of contracts with Italian companies.

First citing a "reservoir of Angelo Capriotti [company Svemark] (October / November 2010) of $ 64,000 in cash for the president, Ricardo Martinelli, and men of  his entourage, and delivered-under Valter Lavítola’s direction in a dark colored  in the hands of 'facilitator' Francisco Martinelli (aka Frankie) …".

It also refers to a deposit of $6 000, presumably  for the former minister Roxana Mendez, under Lavítola’s instruction and made through an account of Diagnistic Devor, a Roger Oruña company. It finally, cites $530,000 euros (about $700 000), “presumably for the president, Ricardo Martinelli, and his associates in government,” also under Lavítola’s instructions.

The full story in La Prensa provides numerous links to emails in the hands of prosecutors.