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Reiche Testifies He Paid Former President
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Reiche
Testifies He Paid Former President Calderón
To Secure The CCSS Contract
The former president of the Corporación
Fischel, Walter Reiche Fischel, who is on
trial with seven others, including former
president, Rafael Ángel Calderón, testified
yesterday that he was asked to sacrifice
himself.
Reiche said that Carlos Vargas Pagán, a
lawyer for Calderón, visited him while being
held in detention (jail) in 2004 and asked
straight out to protect the former president
from being involved in the Fischel-Caja
scandal.
According to Reiche, Vargas who was a
partner in the Calderón law firm, visited
him to explain the transfer of shares that
were being traded by Calderón to be placed
in his name.
"When we were in the hallway on his way out,
he took me my the arm and was emphatic that
Rafael Ángel Calderón was to be protected at
all costs. I was asked to sacrifice myself
for him (Calderón). People like Gerardo
Bolaños are doing so and are prepared to pay
the price to protect him (Calderón)", said
Reiche yesterday afternoon facing the trial
judges directly.
Vargas would not comment yesterday on the
Reiche testimony, not returning calls or
messages.
Reiche told the trial judges during his
second day of testimony that he paid former
president Calderón us$850.000 dollars in
exchange for a guarantee that a Finnish
company would be awarded the government
contract to supply the CCSS (Caja) with
medical equipment.
The former Fischel president revealed that
on January 31, 2004, during a gala dinner
following the Pavarotti concert, he met with
former president Calderón who told him "I
got the money, all is set".
Reiche said that the payment was not for
consulting as has been alleged by the former
president. "That was a phrase coined by my
lawyers. It was not a legal-policy
conuslting fee, it was a payment for the
awarding of the contract and that it would
be executed quickly", said Reiche.
Calderón told the press yesterday, through
his lawy, Juan Marcos Rivero, that the
evidence does not support the statement by
Reiche. "It is understandable that he (Reiche)
decides spin the version most satisfactory
to his interests", said Rivero.
Reiche also told the trial judges that in
2004 he was transferred to the maximum
security cells of the La Reforma prison
after speaking to the press. The former
Fischel president said that there he
considered suicide as an option.
Reiche confirmed to the court that the
executives of the Finnish company,
Instrumentarium Medko Medical, who was
awarded the multi million dollar contract,
were aware fo the payment to Calderón.
Reiche also told the judges that the same
executives asked the former excutive
director of the board of directors of the
Corporación Fischel, Emilio Bruce, to keep
the secret.
Instrumentarium Medko was awarded a contract
valued at us$39 million dollars to supply
the CCSS with medical supplies, of which $9
million dollars is alleged to have gone to
the pockets the eight being accused, that
includes the former president of the CCSS,
Eliseo Vargas. The Corporación Fischel
brokered the deal.
It was the opulant home of Vargas in the
Lindora de Santa Ana subdivision that
brought the scandal to light, when it was
found that the former CCSS head was living
in a house bought and paid for by the
Corporación Fischel.
The Finnish police has asked Costa Rican
authorities help in their investigation into
Instrumentarium Medko, whose investigators
have visited Costa Rica on numerous
occasions, interviewing Reiche and other
Fischel present and former executives and
their lawyers.
Former president Calderón has maintained his
innocence from the first day of his
detention and that the trial will vindicate
him, allowing him to proceed with his plans
to run for the 2010 presidential elections
as head of the Partido Unidad Social
Cristiana (PUSC) party.
The PUSC party has yet to call for a
leadership convention and to date no one has
stepped forward with any intention to lead
the party, confident that Calderón will be
the party leader in 2010.
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