The Prosecution Is on the Trail of More People Involved in the Theft of MOP Beams 

The judge of guarantees, Rubén Peña, charged and ordered the arrest of Víctor Moreno and Gary Smail for the crime of embezzlement within the investigation for the theft of type H beams belonging to the Ministry of Public Works (MOP).  During a hearing that began at 11:00 am on Friday, October 4, in the Accusatory Criminal System of Western Panama, Judge Peña decided to order the detention of both defendants after considering that it is a serious crime and that there is a risk of destruction of evidence.  With these two detainees, there are now five people accused of the alleged crime of embezzlement to the detriment of the State.  Moreno, who was in charge of security at the yard located in Farfan, where the MOP beams were located, is accused by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of having received payments in the amount of $500 and $600 to allow the material to leave. 

Meanwhile, Smail, who worked as an assistant to the former representative of the Veracruz district, Ronald González, is accused by the Prosecutor’s Office of having received payments from some recycling companies that bought the beams.  However, during a brief intervention before the judge, the accused explained that he did work for the former representative of Veracruz in a demolition company that operated in Howard, but that he did not work in the Veracruz municipal council and that he never went to the MOP yard.  He also explained to the judge that he always thought that the beams taken to the recycling companies were part of the demolition work carried out at González’s company.  The prosecution’s investigation revealed that Smail received transfers of $3,357 and $1,894 that were part of the money delivered by the recyclers as payment for the delivery of the beams.  The complaint in this case was filed by the MOP on September 5, after which the prosecutor’s office launched a series of proceedings that included eight raids in several provinces to recover the beams and visits to different recycling plants. Sixteen interviews were also conducted with people linked to the delivery and marketing of the beams.  In this case, charges of embezzlement were brought against González, Víctor Pittí (former official of the Social Security Fund) and Roy Obando, the latter being the first person arrested in relation to the case.