Prosecutor stops the mayor of Guacimo

By A.M. Costa Rica staff The Prosecutor office of Pococí in Limon* sent judicial agents on four raids Monday. One was at the Municipality of Guacimo* in Limon. Another was at the house of the Guacimo mayor, Gerardo Fuentes. The third was at the house of the Guacimo municipality president, surnamed Mejías, and the last was at the house of an urban development entrepreneur surname Barboza. The three men were arrested as suspects of corruption crimes, prosecutors said. According to the prosecutor's report, the three suspects are linked to crimes of influence peddling, corruption against the public treasury, ideological falsehood and use of fake documents. According to the investigation, last Nov. 1 Barboza was developing  an urban project and requested a permit for potable water and sewage service to the Public Water and Sewers Institute of the Caribe. That request was rejected because the project did not comply with technical criteria. “ Then Barboza apparently had transferred the property to another company to request again the potable water and sewage services to the Public Water Institute.” said the Prosecutor office report According to the case, on Oct. 31 the other two suspects, Mayor Fuentes and Municipality president Mejías met an executive official from the water institute “with the apparent purpose of influencing to obtain, improperly, the potable water services requested before by Barboza, said a prosecutor's report. Also investigated is if the documents presented to the institute has fake information, prosecutors added. Evidence in the case was located during the raids, and the three suspects were sent to the Criminal Court of the Treasury for the interviews, said the prosecutor's statement. At the criminal court, prosecutors requested pre-trial precautionary measures for the three suspects. The case continues in investigation in the Prosecutor office of Pococi in Limon. Another mayor also is in trouble with investigators. In January the Major of Paraiso* in Cartago, Marvin Solano, was called to testify before the deputies of the Commission of Cartago at the Legislative Assembly. The deputies had questions about alleged irregularities in urban development permits and illegal municipal charges on public water services. The session of interviews was published through the online channel of the Legislative Assembly where the deputies could hear Solano's version of the accusations against him, which are also being investigated by the Public Ministry. Solano, however, did not answer any of the questions because, he said that “since the process was in the investigation stage, I made the decision, based on Article 295 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which obliges me to maintain secrecy about its proceedings." Solano is being investigated for approving several urban projects without complying with the requirements of the law, said agents. In addition, there is a complaint of irregular charges in the potable water service on 55 occasions.

Guacimo Municipality courtesy photo Gerardo Fuentes accepting the tittle of Guacimo Mayor. Solano resigned as mayor of Paraiso* Monday.  But the Prosecutor's Office also confirmed that staffers still are investigating the complaints against him. Another case involving a mayor was in December 2017. The Court of San José sentenced the Limón* mayor, Néstor Mattis, to pay 7,600,000 colones ($12,723) plus 23,836.93 colones for interest ($40) for a total of 7,623,836.93 colones ($12,763) to the General Comptroller office. The court ruled that this debt is payable because of an alteration in a contract undertaken by the municipality. Mattis agreed to the contract and has accepted his responsibility for it.  The comptroller office also asked that Mattis be suspended from his position. The court made a full investigation of Mattis’ salary and holdings including his vehicles. Mattis has asked the judicial department to make arrangements for the payment of his debt which it did, stating, "The Department of Human Resources of the municipality is retaining biweekly for wage garnishment the sum of 72,338.00, for a total of 144,676.00 monthly." Mattis, however, is still under investigation by the comptroller office. That institution said, at that time that the Limón Municipality* management was a "disaster the way in which the municipality performs budget management and purchasing.” According to the comptroller report "the municipality allocated a significant amount of public resources for the period between 2016 and 2017 - more than $5.6 million." The money was used by 173 suppliers. These purchases are under investigation. ---- Should the mayors continue in charge of the municipalities, even if they are facing Prosecutor' Office investigations? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com *Click on the blue letters to reach the place in google maps.

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