OFF THE CUFF: $20 million in food handouts for CD candidates
FOR THE THIRD TIME, former National Aid Program (PAN) Director Rafael Guardia has refused to make a statement to prosecutors investigating him for corruption.
Prosecutors said he cited article 25 of the Constitution, which gives him the right to remain silent.
The questioning was conducted by Prosecutor William Parodi, and it focused on 50 companies used to purchase food during the last election campaign, allegedly with funds from PAN.
None of the contracts issued by the agency exceeded $249,000, just below the amount needed to call for a public bid for the contract.
Prosecutors says that PAN spent $20 million on food purchases for government-backed candidates.
The defendant is being held in La Gran Joya Prison.
Former president Ricardo Martinelli who created, funded and rules the CD party, whose candidates were the recipients of the PAN largesse, has said that he knows nothing of the skullduggery going on in PAN and that offenders should be prosecuted to the full. Does that include those who were elected after distributing the food packages to voters?