Panamas artful dodger heads home again

FORMER  vice-president  Felipe Pipo Virzi’s, long drawn out battle to avoid justice took another ponderous step sideways on Friday afternoon, December  15, as he once again walked out of the El Renacer prison and headed for the comforts of home, leaving behind a host of fellow members of the Martinelli inner circle, facing corruption charges totaling scores of millions of dollars.

Virzi had been in preventive detention, while under investigation by the Seventh Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, for alleged money laundering through alleged irregularities in the loan that the consortium HPCContratas-P & V received from the State Savings Bank, Caja de Ahorros for supposedly building a convention center … another venture involving key members of the inner circle.

The money was diverted in  2012 to the now liquidated securities brokerage Financial Pacific.

The defense of Virzi, engaged in what appears to be a war of legal attrition had requested bail from the Eighteenth Criminal Court. Alfredo Vallarino, Virzi’s lawyer, had also filed a writ of habeas corpus before the Supreme Court.

In November,  the Supreme Court granted him a habeas corpus with the impediment of not leaving the country without judicial authorization.

But Virzi, like Dickens’ Artful Dodger, is enmeshed in multiple criminal cases which he seems to flaunt like campaign medals.

He is in the sights of the First Prosecutor’s against Organized Crime in the so-called New Business case, related to the purchase of Editora Panamá América (Epasa) with alleged public funds, and there are others dating back to his involvement with now jailed ex-supreme court judge Moncada Luna.

“He is over 65 years of age, and should not be deprived of liberty unless the Public Ministry justifies such measure. Virzi has not failed to comply with his commitments to the processes, so there is not much to analyze, ” said the judge who granted him house arrest.

The last time Virzi got to go home he ended up facing new charges over events that took place while under house arrest. More campaign ribbons.