OFF THE CUFF: The shoe finally drops for Shamah

POLITICAL OBSERVERS have long been wondering when the shoe was going to drop for Salomon “Salo” Shamah, a close confident of former president Ricardo Martinelli, and the Rasputin in charge of dirty tricks for Democratic Change (CD).

 during two election campaigns, and the man who, while serving as Tourism Authority manager, had his Visa revoked by the U.S. after revelations of links to money laundering.
Despite his tearful on air “resignation” Martinelli, after pronouncing that a woman would take over, left the fixer at his post. After there were constant reports of Shamah strong arming people, among them a witness who fingered Martinelli as the man behind a share manipulating scheme at Financial Pacific, to Guillermo Tamborelli, a witness spilling names in the National Assistance Program (PAN).
He also managed to coerce Martinelli into approving millions for the Carnaval event on the Cinta Costera. Martinelli had vowed that not one dollar would go to the event, which attracts zero tourists to the city, while successful self-funded carnavals elsewhere drew scores of thousands of visitors.
He was also linked to a government funded tele-marketing campaign on behalf of the CD Party.
But he overstepped the mark when he allegedly used his mafia style approach on a judge, who refused to bend, and now the biter faces the prospect of being bitten
RThe Credentials Committee of the National Assembly has forwarded the file of a complaint against the Supreme Court to the Public Ministry (MP) in which Shamah figures.
The criminal complaint was filed in 2014 by lawyer Alberto Reyes for allegedly exerting direct intimidation and interferencepn the fourth criminal judge, Alexis Ballesteros, for favoring interests of the executive branch, headed at the time by President Ricardo Martinelli.
The complaint of abuse of authority and influence peddling was filed against judges Jose Ayu Prado, Alejandro Moncada Luna, Wilfredo Sáenz and Secundino Mendieta, and the general manager of the Tourism Authority of Panama Salomon Shamah.
Ballesteros was fired after reporting pressure to rule against La Prensa Corporation (Corprensa) in the trial of five workers Transcaribe Trading, SA (TCT), who blocked delivery of papers from La Prensa August 2-3, 201
The Credentials Committee decided to close the case in repect of the judges, but by not having this instance the power to investigate Shamah decided to refer Shamah’s case to the MP.