Lawmakers rob State to make sure bets

A pair of deputies in the National Assembly (AN) found a sure way to hedge their bets during the previous administration through over  30   “consultants”  employed at the local racetrack who received checks from the notorious “172” fund, and return the cash, less a  5-10% commission.

The  “consultants”  in the stables of the Presidente Remón Racetrack were stall cleaners,  grooms and “exercises” who agreed to participate in the recycling  of checks for deputy Héctor Aparicio  a former president of the Assembly (2011-20120 teamed with Bernabé Pérez-Frachiola who once aspired to be Panama’s Comptroller General, says a report by La Prensa, published July 16.

The newspaper  corroborated, its investigation through payment vouchers published on the Comptroller’s portal, of

contracts endorsed by racetrack employees totaling over $ 100,000, with more sitting in the wings.

Aparicio did not answer messages of from La Prensa before the story was published and  Pérez Frachiola, denied the accusations.

La Prensa spoke with three witnesses who were part of the network of “consultants” or contractors of the AN, paid through Form 172, who reported that a deputy was collecting at the racecourse names, cedulas, signatures and, processing  transfers to change the checks of the contracts and deliver the cash through third parties.

Witnesses said that Pérez Frachiola, who shares with deputy Héctor Aparicio (Cambio Democrático) A  passion for horses, was Aparicio’s contact when they were granted the contracts  at the time that Aparicio was president of the Assembly (2011-2012)

La Prensa  was able to corroborate the veracity of the testimonies (see facsimile) of a dozen contracts that add up to at least $100,000