Justice” a la carte in Panama Supreme Court

AN ACQUITTAL,  a changed bail bond or detention order could be bought at prices ranging from  $1,500 to $7,000 from a corruption network operating for years in in Panama’s Supreme Court according to the Public Ministry.

“They did it by taking advantage of and looking for the opportunities presented in each process to … obtain economic benefits ” says prosecutor Adela Heidy Cedeño of the Anti corruption Discharge Office.

One e network official under investigation confessed, that he once he heard that a defendant tried for robbery and homicide offered an official of the Second Superior Court up to $50,000 to advance the hearing and obtain a favorable verdict.

All these facts are recorded in the fiscal hearing prepared by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which investigated the complaint filed by the president of the Supreme Court, José Ayú Prado, in  August  2015.

Several of the acts that were under the scrutiny of the prosecution were confirmed by Blas Macre, who worked as a judicial officer in a key post and is one of those investigated in the case.

Macre admitted to being responsible for the sale of precautionary measures and bail bonds release and identified others involved in the operation, including assistants to Supreme Court magistrates, and he served asa link between accused and officials of the Judicial Branch, to facilitate the purchase of jurors of conscience.

Refund
He also confessed to receiving from each accused up to  $5,000 and $7,000 to carry out the logistics of the operation. He said, for example, that on one occasion he negotiated with a jury member, but  the the defendant was found guilty and demanded the return of the $3,000 that had been paid out reports La Prensa.

The investigators of the Public Ministry found  through wiretaps authorized by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court that members of the network maintained constant communications agreeing  on key aspects of the operation, such as amounts of money they would charge for each defendant, as well as how they would contact family members of detainees to arrange payments,and  the places where they would meet.

Jurors at $200 per

Eduardo Garcia, a former member of the Judicial Branch, who owned a taxi in which he went looking for jurors to offer them money.

Jurors, according to the prosecution were usually paid $200 say documents seen by La Prensa.