Prosecutor requests jail for four in dehydrated food scam

The trial for the dehydrated food purchased with funds from the National Aid Program (PAN) in the government of Ricardo Martinelli ended on Tuesday, February 20, and Agueda Rentería, the head of the First Criminal Cases Settlement Court, took advantage of the 30 days established by law to issue a verdict.

Prosecutor Ariel De Gracia requested a conviction for the four defendants: Giacomo Tamburelli, former director of the National Aid Program; Rubén De Ycaza, the supplier of the dehydrated food, and the merchants Jorge Noel and Cinthia Quirós.

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office investigated them for the alleged commission of crimes against the public administration, in the forms of embezzlement in various forms, influence peddling, and crimes against public health.

At the trial, two experts from the Comptroller General supported the audit that determined a financial injury to the State of $14 million, an element that was key in the investigation.

This investigation began in 2015, as a result of the audit that detected irregularities in the purchase of dehydrated food for official schools in the poorest towns in the country.

This was the second investigation carried out by the Public Ministry for the purchase of dehydrated food during the five years 2009-2014, an administration in which the PAN paid $60 million in dehydrated food.