Judge raps wiretap defense lawyer, missing victims

A Criminal Court judge came down hard on Monday, September 3 on a defense attorney attempting to further delay a trial of two high  profile members of the previous administration

The ex-secretaries of the National Security Council Gustavo Pérez and Alejandro Garúz had pleaded not guilty to illegal wiretapping in front of Judge Enrique Pérez in the Sixteenth  Criminal Court.

The first witness to testify was Iris González, who was head of Information Technology of the Security Council in the previous government who gave information on what happened when the Security Council moved to another location, in Ancón.

Lawyer Gustavo Pereira Bianco, for   Gustavo Pérez, filed a nullity incident because he claimed that all the complainants had not been notified.

Energetically, the judge told Periera that the appeal was reckless, and he called on the lawyer to act with loyalty and good faith. He warned that if he engages in unfair practices, he will apply fines to the defense attorneys or plaintiffs.

After the warning, the judge rejected the nullity incident because it was untimely and also called attention to the complainants (victims) who did not attend the hearing in the morning.

‘”They are always complaining that ‘they wiretapped me, they wiretapped me’, and they do not come to the audience,” he said.

Of 15 complainants accredited in the process, only three attended the first day of the hearing.

Two other defendants Ronny Rodríguez and William Pittí are fugitives.