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Ericsson Contract Gone
The
Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) said Tuesday
it would no longer seek to push
through a contract with Ericsson
after confirming that the
Swedish telecommunications giant
paid for two officials of the
state-run entity to travel to
Prague last year.
The
decision by ICE, Costa Rica's
state electric and telephone
monopoly, means the voiding of
Ericsson's $130 million contract
for installing 600,000 GSM
cellular telephone connections.
The government's comptroller's
office (Contraloría
General de la Republica) opposed
the Ericsson contract and in
late September made a final
decision, saying it would not
approve the contract that ICE
had worked on negotiating for
some time.
The comptroller's office, said
that there had rumours of
payoffs and perks given to ICE
employees and that the company
had delivered equipment before
the deal was concluded.
Without the approval of the
comptroller's office, the
contract could not enter into
effect.
ICE appealed the decision but,
after discovering the illicit
payment of travel expenses to
key ICE managers, said Tuesday
it would not ask the
comptroller's office to
reconsider terminating the
contract.
This means that ICE now has to
put the contract out to bid
anew, delaying the installation
of the 600,000 new cellular
phone connections for at least
two years, the ICE's press
office reported.
Questions about Ericsson
surfaced months ago, when
newspapers reported that ICE
executives, had traveled to
Prague last year accompanied by
Ericsson Costa Rica country
manager Ricardo Taylor.
Alvaro Retana, an ICE official,
José Antonio Lobo, a member of
the ICE board and Hernando
Pantigoso de la Peña, a director
of Radiográfica Costarricense
S.A. (RACSA) attended a meeting
with Taylor in Prauge, Czech
Republic, while the trio were on
an authorized conference trip in
Geneva last October.
It was mere coincidence that
they were all staying at the
same Prague hotel and insisted
that each had paid his own way.
Lobo, however, retracted his
statement last week, telling
prosecutors probing a case of
corruption in the ICE-Alcatel
scandal, in which he said that
Ericsson had footed the bill
during his stay in Prague.
Lobo is under house arrest after
it was learned that Alcatel had
deposited $2.4 million into an
account held by Lobo's wife,
Jean Gallup.
In early August, Álvaro Retana,
considered the number two man at
ICE, quit his position following
critical internal reports and
that he would probably be fired
over the situation.
To investigate these cases, the
ICE launched an internal probe,
but executive president Pablo
Cob said he intended to take
legal measures that would keep
Alcatel from obtaining new
contracts.
Costa Rican law provides for
sanctioning a company for a
period of one to five years for
"providing gifts, either
directly or through third
parties, to officials involved
in contract negotiations."
"Typical" Pedophile Arrested
A 63 year old
American, identified only by his
last name - Callahan - was
detained by police yesterday in
his home in La Uruca, west of
San José, for allegedly sexually
abusing at least five minors in
San José centre.
A judge in the Primer Circuito
Judicial de San José ordered
that the man cannot leave Costa
Rica and must stay from any
contact with the minor victims.
The man was arrested during an
operative by the Unidad Contra
la Explotación Sexual (UCES) del
Ministerio de Seguridad.
Callahn, who lives in Costa Rica
on a pension since 2001, was
surprised when UCES agents
stormed his residence. The
investigation into Callahan's
activities had been ongoing for
more than one year, following
reports by neighbours seeing
minors coming and going from the
residence.
Rogelio Ramos, Minister of
Public Security, told the press
that they found sufficient
evidence in the man's home that
will allow the authorities to
obtain a conviction. Authorities
allege that the man offered
minors money for exchange of
sexual favours.
Paul Chaves, director for the
Centro de Información de la
Fuerza Pública (CIFP), explains
that they are dealing with a
"typical" pedophile, who prayed
on the poverty of his victims,
the majority being between 13
and 16 years of age.
The case is in the hands of the
Fiscalía de Delitos Sexuales,
the prosecutor's office for
Sexual Crimes.
Banana Pickers Allege Use of
Toxic Substance by Firms
Thousands of banana pickers in
Costa Rica have filed a lawsuit
in Los Angeles against two
chemical companies and three
major U.S. fresh produce
companies, claiming exposure to
a toxic pesticide caused a range
of reproductive disorders.
The suit - filed against Dole
Food Co., Chiquita Brands
International Inc., Fresh Del
Monte Produce Inc., Dow Chemical
Co. and Shell Chemical Co., a
subsidiary of Royal Dutch/Shell
Group - accuses the companies of
using dibromochloropropane
on bananas in Central America
after it was banned in the U.S.
in 1979.
The pesticide, a soil fumigant
sold under the brand names
Nemagon and Fumazone,
is suspected of causing
sterility, testicular atrophy,
miscarriages, birth defects,
liver damage and cancer when
inhaled or absorbed by the skin,
according to the lawsuit filed
Friday.
A spokesman for Cincinnati-based
Chiquita said the company had
"just become aware of this and
has not had time to review the
complaint."
Representatives for Dow, Shell,
Dole and Del Monte were not
immediately available for
comment.
Dow and Shell stopped making
DBCP in the late 1970s but
continued selling it to Costa
Rica "in conscious disregard of
the health and safety" of
workers there, the lawsuit said.
The suit also accuses the
produce companies of continuing
"to oversee the application" of
DBCP on their banana farms.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs also
accused the companies of
conducting a "settlement
campaign" in which workers
exposed to the pesticide were
induced to sign releases freeing
the companies of liability.
The companies allegedly offered
to settle the claims for
sterility for $2,900 to $6,500 a
piece as long as the workers did
not involve their own lawyers.
The lawsuit requests general and
punitive damages for what it
describes as "wanton and
reckless acts … and outrageous
and malicious conduct." It's
claims against the companies
include product liability,
fraud, negligence and
conspiracy, but it did not
specify an amount.
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