Blue Apple case defendants rush to reach agreements with court

With five days to go before the trial of the Blue Apple case begins, four representatives of construction companies have effective collaboration agreements validated before the judge. Of the remaining 26 people called to appear, seven of them seek, in the last days before the trial, approaches with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to negotiate effective collaboration or penalty agreements.

One of these groups has already reached an agreement, it is Joaquín Rodríguez Salcedo. The information was confirmed to TVN by their lawyer Gladys Quintero and she added that they no longer have to attend the trial on August 22, since the agreement was validated by the Second Criminal Court. The lawyer did not give details of when it was validated and what type of agreement was agreed upon by her client and the Prosecutor’s Office.

The details of the other six accused are not known, but according to the norm for these agreements, they must be approved by the judge of the case before the trial begins.

For collaboration and penalty agreements, the defendant must acknowledge guilt and provide sufficient valuable information to the investigation.

Dodging the bullet
The brothers Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, the main defendants in the case, resorted, on August 17, to being sworn in online as substitute deputies of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen). Therefore, Judge Baloisa Marquínez loses jurisdiction and the process of the brothers will have to be heard by the magistrates of the Supreme Court