Ex-security minister and redirected millions

THE FORMER combative Minister of Public Security José Raúl Mulino,  is already under investigation for his role in the Finmeccanica helicopter deal which allegedly involved a $25 million dollar bribe.

While he was in preventive detention, his CD supporters  demonstrated on the streets chanting “political persecution”  the mantra,  for any former administration official facing corruption charges.

Now Mulino is back under the microscope.

In May 2013, the security Ministry, under his management prepared four direct purchase orders for $856,000 each in favor of True Marketing, S.A. for the purchase of devices that allowed the police to verify information about citizens during traffic stops.

They were widely known as Pele police, and were in the end declared illegal by the courts.

The breakup of the contract, which totaled $3.4 million, into four parts meant that it did not have to be approved by the Cabinet Council.

True Marketing worked with the company Pele System, Inc. for the supply of the devices. Eventually, Pele would only receive one of the $856,000 payments, while the other three would go to True Marketing.

Asked about the deal, Mulino said that he does not remembered anything about it.

True Marketing is one of the firms being investigated as part of the probe into alleged bribes paid by the German company SAP in exchange for a contract from Social Security in 2010.

Now the company is also being investigated in the alleged irregularities in the security contract.

The president of True Marketing is Heraclio Carmelo Bustamante.

He could not be reached for comment reports La Prensa.

The company was founded in 2004, and the other co-founder is listed in public records as Carlos Bissot.

The company offers technology services.

Bissot and Bustamante have both been linked to the corruption investigation into the SAP contract.