Former Panama mayor gets 12 years for embezzlement

The First Settlement Court of Criminal Cases sentenced the former mayor of Panama Bosco Vallarino to 12 years in prison for embezzlement to the detriment of the Municipality. The decision was made after the Superior Court for Settlement of Criminal Cases, upon resolving an appeal, ordered to correct the determinations incurred in the judgment of June 15, 2023. The court also declared two former prosecutors of the Comptroller General of the Republic criminally responsible and sentenced them to three years in prison for the commission of a crime of culpable embezzlement to the detriment of the Municipality of Panama.

The case began in 2010 due to the breach of two consulting contracts between the Municipality of Panama and two companies for the management of hospital waste. A property damage of more than 300 thousand dollars could have been caused.