Monday 03 November 2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Former President
Calderón Gets His Day In
Court Today Starting At
8am
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Former President
Calderón Gets His Day In
Court Today Starting At
8am
At 8am sharp this Monday
morning, the Tribunales
de Goicoechea will begin
the long awaited trial
of seven people that
includes former Costa
Rican president, Rafael
Ángel Calderón.
The Fiscalía
(prosecution) accuses
Calderón for having
received a commission in
the purchase of medical
equipment by the Caja
Costarricense del Seguro
Social (CCSS), also
known as the "Caja",
from the Instrumentarium
Medko Medical, a Finland
corporation, represented
in Costa Rica by the
Corporación Fischel, the
largest chain of
pharmacies in the
country, headed by
Walter Reiche.
Reiche, along with
former Caja president,
Eliseo Vargas, Caja
former director, Gerardo
Bolaños and Caja
modernization manager,
Carlos Sánchez, and
three Corporación
Fischel executives, are
all to stand trial with
Calderón.
The charges against the
eight are: peculado,
corrupción agravada,
cohecho propio,
penalidad del corruptor,
destrucción de
documentos and falsedad
ideológica.
The government is
claiming us$135 million
dollars in damages and
social damage. This is
the first ever such case
of damages brought by
the state.
Rafael Ángel Calderón
(1990-1994) will today
become the first Costa
Rican president ever to
stand trial for
corruption.
The case began years ago
with the approval of a
us$32 million dollar
loan from the government
of Finland for the
purchase of medical
equipment by the Caja. A
further us$7.5 million
dollars was later
approved, bringing the
total of the approval to
us$39.5 million.
Eliseo Vargas was a
legislative member when
the loan was approved,
to later become
president of the Caja,
when the loan was
actually disbursed. The
Corporación Fischel,
headed by Reiche, was
appointed to as
representative for the
purchase.
The case of corruption
was discovered when the
Spanish daily, La Nación,
reported that Vargas was
living in a luxury home
in the exclusive
residential community of
Lindora in Santa Ana, in
a home paid for by
Fischel.
From that point on the
tangled web of diversion
of funds, corruption led
to the Calderón having
received payments in the
deal called the
Caja-Fischel and led to
an investigation by the
Ministerio Público. One
by one all eight of the
men involved in the
complex scheme to
defraud the Caja (and
the government) were
arrested.
Calderón has pleaded
innocence in the matter.
He has been pushing hard
for the trial that he
says will help him prove
his innoncence and
vindicate himself and
allow him to run for the
Partido Unidad Social
Cristiana (PUSC)
nomination for the 2010
presidential elections.
Although the trial is
open to the public,
courtroom number 3
located on the third
floor of the Tribunales
del II Circuito Judicial
de San José, only has
capacity for 100 people,
which will mean entry to
the courtroom will be
limited given the large
number of defendants and
their lawyers,
prosecutors, the judges
and court personnel.
During the trial 277
people are expected to
give testimony and
scores of volumes of
documents to be entered
into evidence.
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Former president, Rafael
Ángel Calderón, accompanied by his wife, attended church
this weekend. Calderón will be in court this morning for
the start of the trial of corruption against him and
seven others. Calderón said yesterday, "he owes nothing,
fears nothing". |
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