Martinelli would rather give $1 million to judges than victims

Ex-president Ricardo Martinelli  said he would rather offer $1 million to each Supreme Court judge than to plaintiffs  in the  case of alleged illegal wiretapping  that returns to court on November 19 according to those  at a  plea deal meeting that Martinelli had requested, reports La Prensa

Lawyer Carlos Herrera Morán and wiretap  victim  Mitchell Doens, revealed that Martinelli offered up to $75,000 to the plaintiffs as part of a compensation agreement

Herrera Morán, representing Mauro Zúñiga – a victim of eavesdropping – said that the complainants indicated to the former president that the base figure of the agreement had to be $ 1 million for each one, but Martinelli replied that he preferred to give $ 1 million to each magistrate of the Court.

Negotiations for a possible agreement between  the plaintiffs  and Martinelli failed after the ex-president threatened to sue them civilly. said  Rosendo Rivera, independent plaintiff in the case, who said that in a meeting held last week with Martinelli in El Renacer prison  , the ex-governor threatened him and said he hoped he had time and life to return to power  Rivera explained that he got up from the chair and ended the conversation, describing Martinelli’s attitude as disrespectful, since it was he who requested the meeting with the complainants in the process.

He opined that once the news about Judge Oydén Ortega Durán’s ruling, which would remove the jurisdiction of the Court in the case of punctures, was leaked to the media, Martinelli seemed to lose interest in the talks.

Carlos Herrera Morán, a lawyer for Mauro Zúñiga, a victim of wiretapping, also confirmed the breakdown of conversations following Martinelli’s threats.

Morán said  the ex-president made an offer of $75,000  thousand for each plaintiff, but  they had, indicated that the base figure of the agreement had to be $1 million for each one

Martinelli replied that he preferred to give $1 million to each magistrate.

Moran sent a note to the Court and asked to investigate the way in which the draft decision prepared by Ortega Durán was leaked reports La Prensa.

PRD  figurehead Mitchell Doens – confirmed that Martinelli made an offer of $ 75,000 once the complainants withdrew the accusation presented and asked the magistrate Mejía a postponement for two months of the hearing set for November 19

Doens said there was no agreement and he will be present at Monday’s hearing in which the judge of guarantees, Jerónimo Mejía, will detail which evidence presented by the prosecution, the complainants and the defense will be admitted and which not.

On September 28, Judge Mejía declared a recess in the intermediate hearing to begin the process of evaluating the evidence