By A.M. Costa Rica staff
According to the Legislative Assembly, there was a second hearing Tuesday with Marvin Solano-Zuñiga, the mayor of Paraíso in Cartago*, before the Special Commission of the Province of Cartago. The objective of the hearing was to continue clarifying the anomalies that have been denounced regarding the internal management by the mayor.
In addition to Solano, Marianela Brenes-Quirós, auditor of the municipality, was called to an audience so that she, too, could respond to the acts that fall within her functions in said municipality.
The invitation specifically requested that the pair make reference to the possible irregularities in the Municipality of Paraíso* regarding municipal charges and in the urban projects of Los Lagos, Jacaranda, Torres del Paraíso and Properi, as well as the actions of any person or actor who influenced politically to favor these or any other project in that municipality.
Regarding the specific situation of the urban projects, Solano abstained from declaring, only limited himself to said “I requested the deputies to receive my resignation letter as mayor, which becomes effective from Feb. 8 of the year 2019.” That means he continued as public official, however, he exercised his right to avoid speaking.
According to the report on this hearing, the situation of the municipality has antecedents that have generated an investigation both from the commission and the judicial authorities, due to the different complaints of the neighbors for irregularities in the collections of public services as well as the alleged irregularities in the permits granted to the development of urban projects.
Auditor Brenes-Quirós answered some of the questions from the different deputies of the commission. She said that she has been an auditor since last April 2, and as regards specifically the urban issue she said that "she has not done any urban valuation, with respect to the reports that must be carried out from the audit, are in an incipient state and have not made any reference to the urban issue."
The deputy Paola Valladares-Rosado, president of the commission asked about the management of collections that the municipality makes. The auditor said that at least five anomalies were found in a report on management, among them what is commonly called mismanagement of money, contrast or lack of coincidence of signatures and collections in cash without documentation that supports the origin or origin of money. "
Given the lack of response from the mayor, the members of the commission approved another motion for the auditor to resubmit and indicate the work plan that she has for the municipality.
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Legislative Assembly courtesy photo
Marvin Solano-Zuñiga, resigns as mayor, which
becomes effective from Feb. 8 of the year 2019.
The committee also requested appearances by Jorge Rodríguez, a former mayor of Paraíso, and his son, Erick Rodríguez, now a legal advisor. They said they also wanted to hear from Víctor Carvajal Solano, the engineer of that municipality.
Solano was called for first time to testify before the deputies Jan. 8.
The deputies had questions about alleged irregularities in urban development permits and illegal municipal charges on public water services. Solano, however, did not answer any of the questions because, since the process was in the investigation stage, he said he "made the decision, based on Article 295 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which obliges me to keep secrecy about its proceedings."
Solano is being investigated for apparently approving several urban projects without complying with the requirements of the law, said investigators. In addition, there is a complaint of irregular charges in the potable water service on 55 occasions.
The Prosecutor's Office confirmed that staffers are investigating the complaints against Solano. On Feb. 5 of last year, the Municipality of Paraíso* was raided by agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization and the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office. They confiscated documents that will be used as part of the evidence on the investigation.
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