OFF THE CUFF: Swiss joy ride may turn out expensive

WHAT  MAY HAVE been  a $7,200 no-charge joy ride, could end up costing Central American Parliament (Parlacen) Deputy, Lourdes Cortes, more in legal fees to clear her name

She is the sister of former Minister of labor Alma Cortés, and will be investigated by the Supreme Court for crimes against public service.

She is accused of spending $7,200 on a trip to Switzerland in 2011 that was paid for by the ministry. A complaint was filed before the court in July 2014 by current Minister Luis Ernesto Carles, reports La Prensa.

The complaint details that Cortes accompanied her sister, who was the minister at the time, and three other former officials to a conference of the International Labor Organization in March 2011 in Geneva.

In an expense report for the trip, the former minister identified her sister as a “technical advisor.”

Judge Harley Mitchell, who is investigating the case, has ruled that enough evidence exists to continue the process. That decision was approved unanimously by the court. The court must now ask the Electoral Tribunal to suspend the immunity granted to Cortés as a member of Parlacen.

Contacted  by La Prensa, Cortés said that: “When this is all clarified, I hope an apology is published”