Election candidate among red devil embezzlment suspects
The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has temporarily detained seven people – five men and two women – including a candidate in the upcoming election for alleged embezzlement in the case of economic compensation to owners of diablos rojo (red devil) buses.
Among the detainees reports La Prensa is César Herrera, independent candidate for deputy in circuit 8-5, La Chorrera.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the Electoral Tribunal recently lifted the electoral criminal immunity for Herrera.
The prosecution specified that the candidate was summoned three times “but did not attend”, so he was picked up on Thursday, April 4, and issued a detention measure for the alleged irregular collection of $525,000 in compensation of four routes and four more names of other people.
These people “already investigated, allegedly would have lent their names for this illegal act, the majority of this charge was for in nonexistent routes ” said the prosecutor.
The Eighth Court granted nine bonds for a little more than $3.5 million in this case and to date, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has investigated 281 people.
According to the prosecutor’s inquiries, the Transit Authoritys (ATTT) during the last government administration delivered compensation in exchange for 2,649 operating certificates between 2010 and 2014, which represented a disbursement to the State of $94.8 million. Of the total of compensated certificates, the prosecutor’s office investigated 573 for alleged irregularities.
