Óscar Ceville

Jaen said that soon they would conduct inspections of the two sub offices of the Prosecutor of Administration, where Abrego says he had the listening equipment installed. Jaen said the Public Ministry requested the authorization of the Supreme Court (to listen to the tapes) in order to not make the same mistakes that have occurred in the past in cases of alleged wiretaps. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: This is an ongoing corruption case. The Prosecutor of Administration, Oscar Ceville, supposedly ordered his Chief of Security, Jorge Abrego, to buy and install wiretapping equipment to record and monitor the telephone conversations of employees working in his offices. Ceville has filed counter-charges against Abrego, alleging that he tried to blackmail him for money with threats of going public with the information he had on the wiretaps. The Supreme Court and prosecutors are trying to figure out who did what, and why. Now the Public Ministry can listen to the taped conversations. This one will drag on for a long time. And, there's also the political angle - Oscar Ceville was appointed by the PRD.   

Editor's Comment: Moncada has since requested the Supreme Court to evaluate whether or not he should continue to function as the prosecutor for this case, or if he should be removed. Martin Torrijos will continue to be protected by immunity from prosecution until November 2010 when Panama leaves the Central American Parliament. The PRD has already delayed and stalled the investigation of this CEMIS case for many years, and in fact it suits the grand strategic plan of Ricardo Martinelli perfectly if these investigations drag out for the next three to four years. By then, there will be no PRD politicians left standing with any name recognition whatsoever.   

Garzón refused to take the polygraph exam, but voluntarily told his version of events to two officials of the Presidency of the Republic, during which he denied having asked the company for money, has he has been accused. "For the first time they have heard my complete version at the presidential level. I do not understand why they say that I asked for money, because I don't have anything to do with their paperwork," Garzon said whenh leaving the Palace of the Herons. The consultant also attacked the company La Reserva and maintains that their allegations were only a method to extort the ANAM so that their environmental impact studies would be approved. and the proof is that one of those documents was approved last Friday.

The manager of the Anam, Javier Arias, said the lie detector tests are being done based on a request he made directly to Martinelli. He also clarified that it was he who asked for help, for this case, from the team that supports the National Council of Transparency Against Corruption. Arias even presented a letter in which the ANAM communicates to those people who are responsible for conducting a preliminary management review, to clarify a possible act of corruption by ANAM officials for the approval of an environmental impact study for a residential project. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Polygraphs? That works for me. Yesterday I took a phone call from a person who is fed up with local, low level corruption in Bocas del Toro over things like permits and noise violations for bars because it drives tourists away from their hotel and reducing the value of their property. It's very hard to identify, prove, and clean up governmental corruption anywhere. In this case it was happening in Panama City at the headquarters of the ANAM, and the investigation is making national headlines. The government has limited resources to investigate these things and Bocas is at the end of the supply chain for many things, including justice.   

Editor's Comment: Martin Torrijos will lose his immunity from prosecution in November 2010 when Panama withdraws from the Central American Parliament (Parlacen). His name has figured prominently in the CEMIS scandal from day one. Obviously, while he was in power for five years the investigation went nowhere.   

At 5:15 pm Undersecretary Castañé was authorized to accompany Abrego to a place in the district of Las Cumbres. Abrego continued to insist it was Ceville who gave him the money to buy the equipment used to wiretap the phones and to record the conversations of several former officials of the institution, including now Supreme Court Justice Victor Benavides.

The adviser to the Attorney General, Neftali Jaén, confirmed that last night Abrego participated in a judicial proceeding to turn over a set of evidence for the record, and when that was done he returned to the Public Ministry to continue making his statement. For now, the Attorney General has not pressed charges against Abrego, who has been accused by Ceville of allegedly trying to extort money from him using the illegal phone recordings, after he fired the former security chief in 2007. Sources said in the coming days Eric Espinoza will be called to appear, the former Secretary of the Security Council, who was serving in that position when the alleged extortion attempt reported by Ceville occurred. Also in this case a note of request has been sent to the Electoral Tribunal and the Chancellery of the Republic, to lift the immunity enjoyed by former President Ernesto Perez Balladares, so that he might be called as a witness in this case.

The Supreme Court must determine whether Ceville may be called to testify in the process, after verifying the evidence provided by Abrego. (La Critica)   

Editor's Comment: "A prosecutor?" Ana Matilde Gomez was not just "a prosecutor" but rather the Attorney General. In other words, before she was removed from office, every prosecutor in the country worked for her. The Supreme Court vote was right down party lines - the four justices who were appointed by PRD presidents voted against conviction, the five justices who were appointed by non-PRD presidents voted to convict. There's no doubt that her removal and conviction were politically motivated. President Ricardo Martinelli wanted her out of the way, and now she's gone. As part of her conviction she is prohibited from serving in the government or holding public office for four years - the amount of time that would have been remaining on her term. She has one year to pay a $4,000 fine which she has said she would not pay, and that she would rather go to jail. She's going to make herself a kind of political martyr. We have not heard the last of Ana Matilde Gomez, and I would not be at all surprised to see her running for president sometime in the future, on the PRD ticket, of course...   

Perez Balladares told investigators that all he knows about the alleged negotiations that were made leading up to the approval of this bill, which was voted on in the National Assembly in 2002, is contained in the video tapes he gave to then Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez in July 2009, stressed the source. Perez Balladares was notified of the summons to appear by the Undersecretary of Public Prosecutions, Beatriz Castanet, who went to his resident in San Francisco earlier this week. The former president's statement filled 20 pages, they said.

In some of these videos, which have already been made public, and which have a very poor audio quality, Perez Balladares is seen sitting in an armchair talking to lawmaker Carlos Afu, along with a third man who can not be identified. According to these recordings, Afu is informing the former president on the execution of "secret" negotiations to secure the approval of the controversial CEMIS project. (La Prensa)   

Editor's Comment: OK, so Ceville ordered his Chief of Security Abrego to conduct the wiretaps, and when Abrego threatened to take the whole thing to the press, Ceville claims Abrego was trying to extort money from him. But what I still don't know - why did Ceville order Abrego to tap the telephones of the offices of the Prosecutor of Administration in the first place? Does this have anything to do with the upcoming trial of former Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez? (It probably does.) I bet there are people on Ceville's staff who were leaking internal information to the "other side" so to speak, and he was trying to find the leak or something similar.   

Editor's Comment: It's already starting. There are more allegations of "friendly fire" internal to the administration of Ricardo Martinelli. Everyone already wants to try to position themselves for a potential run in 2014. Martinelli himself as already pledged to back Juan Carlos Varela as the candidate. This Barahona guy is apparently just tossing a "sour grapes" grenade over his shoulder as he was fired from his position in the MIDES. Third level, low rate internal bickering. Yawn.   

Editor's Comment: This sounds like a case of "I quit, you're fired." The best he can come up with is "inflated prices"? It's common for someone who's getting fired to toss a sour grapes hand grenade complaint over their shoulder on the way out.   

The payment of the bribe would have supposedly also included the processing of an Environmental Impact Study for a road that was part of another project the same investors under the company Ardan are carrying out, the cutting of wood submerged in Gatun Lake. "I do not put my hand in the fire for anyone. As soon as the owner of the company, Peter Fisher, filed the complaint, we had a three hour meeting last Monday, I ordered an investigation, and I met with the Deputy Administrator. But I am surprised they have gone to La Prensa," said Javier Arias, the Administrator of ANAM. After this statement from Arias, it was learned that Garzón was also separated from his position while ANAM conducts an internal investigation. The businessmen say that the person who put them into contract with Garzón to meet with them about the processing of their Environmental Impact Studies was the Deputy Administrator of ANAM.

Castillo admitted yesterday that when she came to work at the ANAM she held several meetings with the representatives from the company La Reserva and then she appointed Garzón to follow up on their paperwork, but denied that she ordered him to request money in order to approve those impact studies. The Deputy Administrator of Anam said she learned of the complaint on Monday, when Arias told her of the results of the meeting with the owner of La Reserva. "I'm sorry if this happened this way. If he did it, then he should face the full weight of the law," said Castillo, disengaging herself from the person who was her Chief Advisor until last Monday. Castillo even commented that she was on vacation from 26 March until 2 June 2010. Although the two top leaders of the ANAM announced yesterday an investigation into the alleged bribe, they did not confirm whether they will transfer the complaint to the prosecutors of the Public Ministry. (La Prensa)   

Editor's Comment: An investigation into the actions of a corrupt low level judge? Can it be? Really? Somebody pinch me...   

In her complaint Poveda claimed Araúz later met with the owner of the fishing boat and promised to have it released. However Araúz has clarified that the order to release the ship - which had been detained in the port of Vacamonte - was actually issued by Poveda. La Prensa obtained a copy of an official ARAP document in which Poveda gives a written order to release the boat from the "administration" of the ARAP. "Poveda was unaware of the legal processes, representing an instability to the administration and the country," said Araúz. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: This is obviously an internal power struggle in the ARAP. Kriss Poveda didn't like the way things were being done and she got fired for her actions in office. In an attempt to toss a hand grenade over her shoulder on the way out she filed a complaint alleging mismanagement against Araúz, her former boss who fired her, and ran to the press. Now an investigation has been opened and the truth is slowly dribbling out, one fact at a time. Most likely - you slam a boat owner with a $564,000 fine for illegal fishing and seize his boat. After he pays a hefty bribe the fine goes away and the boat is released. Sweet. The obvious questions for the Public Ministry and the investigators are; was the fine paid? If not, why was the boat released? This kind of situation is a perfect set-up for a government official to be able to squeeze bribe money out of someone who was caught doing something wrong. The one thing I don't know for sure (but that I suspect) is that Poveda is a holdover from the PRD administration and she's probably been at the ARAP for a long time. This might be just more house cleaning and efforts to continue to wedge PRD leftovers out of tiny pockets of power and influence. If this is the case, the little pawn piece representing the "National Director of Inspection, Supervision and Control" of the ARAP has now been slid into the Ricardo Martinelli side of the board. Has anyone checked to see what kind of bumper stickers are on the dog catcher's car? He might be next...   

Editor's Comment: Any time I see a government agency that can lay down hefty fines like this I cringe. These kinds of offices are ripe for corruption. They can threaten with a hefty fine, but if you pay the right people, then the whole problem just goes away. I would like to see the dates on this shark finning incident. I remember an article about a relatively recent article about shark finning in Panama from 25 November 2009. I wonder if this is the boat that was supposedly fined $564,000 dollars, that Arauz fined but Poveda ordered released. I also think Arauz might be a holdover from the PRD administration of Martin Torrijos, and Poveda is just cleaning house in order to run her own show. And since she could read the writing on the wall, Arauz fired a preemptive strike by filing a complaint against Poveda and now she can claim she was fired because she is a whistle blower. Nice trick, but there's a problem. I suspect the ARAP was most likely just as corrupt as the rest of the Panamanian government under the administration of Martin Torrijos, so it probably won't be too hard for them to dig up something on Arauz and a whole bunch of other people. In the end it's an internal struggle for power, and there's no way of knowing who is telling the truth.   

Afu also questioned the lawyer José María Castillo, who was the Secretary General of the Attorney General's office when the scandal broke. Interestingly, Castillo then became a defense lawyer for Martin Rodin, the promoter of the CEMIS project who allegedly bribed the lawmakers. This means the investigator later became the defense lawyer. "He was in my investigation, he told me many things...," revealed Afu, but he's saving his ammunition until he's called to testify before the Supreme Court. (La Estrella)   

According to him, Martín Torrijos, Balbina Herrera, Hector Aleman, and Miguel Bush met several times "in the offices of the Rodin's in the Intelligent Building." It was agreed payments would be made in two parts, the first a package of $200,000 dollars what would be distributed among the PRD lawmakers ($6,000 dollars to each one) and another $14,000 when the contract appeared in the Gaceta Oficial. Afu said he wants to keep the case from being closed again, "they have to investigate and find the real culprits," he said. According to him, has spent a decade being the victim of a stigma, "my photo with the wads of money has become a symbol of corruption and the things are not like that," he said. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: Let's see, Carlos Afu is pressuring the Supreme Court to keep the CEMIS case open, and in the same week the Foreign Ministry is reminding everyone that Panama will be pulling out of the PARLACEN in November. When that happens, Martin Torrijos loses his immunity. Any chance the two things might be related? Just an observation on my part. I believe the CEMIS case is the Achilles Heel for both Balbina Herrera and Martin Torrijos. The case remained buried for five years while the PRD was in charge, and now that they are gone it's back like a bad burrito.   

Editor's Comment: First of all, when they use the term "precautionary measures" what they mean are things like house arrest, bail, throwing someone in jail while they await trial (which they call "preventative detention"), a restriction on leaving the country, making someone report in to the prosecutor's office every fifteen days to prove that they are still here, making someone turn over their passport, that kind of thing. Secondly, about the amount of money that is supposedly missing. When this story first started appearing in the press it was $150,000 dollars. Then it jumped to $200,000 dollars. And now today they are reporting $500,000 dollars. In short, I don't know exactly how much money is supposedly missing, but it's not $20 bucks. Third - smart move by the prosecutor to have the Supreme Court clarify if he has the legal power or authority to "suspend" the Mayor of San Miguelito from his position should that become necessary. In the end of the day it's normally the Supreme Court that can try many politicians, and the rules, law, and constitution might not be crystal clear with regards to an Anti Corruption Prosecutor and the Mayor of San Miguelito. So, no harm in asking the question. It might take a few days or a couple of weeks to get the answer back, but there's no rush - he's not going anywhere and the people of San Miguelito are not facing any kind of imminent danger or threat. Finally, have you noticed that the news lately is dominated by how PRD politicians are being investigated for corruption? That's not by mistake - it's by design. The grand strategy of Ricardo Martinelli for the 2014 elections includes putting every prominent PRD politician with a snowball's chance in hell of mounting a political challenge in prison. They want one message to appear in the press over and over again - "PRD = corrupt, PRD = corrupt, PRD = corrupt" (repeat twelve million times.) And, it's just added extra credit and bonus that now the PRD is apparently turning against itself from within - something that rarely happens. It goes to show how much trouble that political party is in. And after the PRD, there really is no one else to challenge. I think we're going to have the CD boys running the show "pa' rato."   

Editor's Comment: One of the goofy things about the Panamanian justice system is that almost nobody goes to the first scheduled hearing. The judges always schedule a primary date and an alternate date at the same time. And, the actual hearing almost always takes place on the alternate date. It's weird, it's inefficient, but that's simply what happens, and that's why the victim didn't bother to show up either, because he knew the defendants were going to blow it off.   

Editor's Comment: Unfortunately, this is a "standard practice" in many government offices in Panama. If you want to get anything done, the people who are supposed to be doing the paperwork slow it down and drag it out as long as possible. They know that eventually someone will show up to complain. When that happens, they have a private little meeting in a back office somewhere, and they make it perfectly clear that it will cost you money if you want to speed things up. This kind of corruption is hard to root out, and I'm glad to see some progress being made. These people should be more than fired, they should also be criminally prosecuted.   

Editor's Comment: The battle over the office of the Mayor of Colon continues. It's become obvious that the government of Ricardo Martinelli want's Garcia gone. His cousin, Panama's Anti Corruption Czar, has been investigating allegations of irregularities involving the creation of "mixed" companies. The Governor of Colon, who was appointed to the position by Martinelli, used her power to "separate" Garcia from office while charges against him are being investigated. And now, this. I suspect eventually Garcia will be charged and convicted with some kind of corruption thing, removed from office permanently, and that will be that. In the meantime, this story will continue to generate headlines.   

Editor's Comment: It's fairly obvious to everyone that the administration of Ricardo Martinelli had Ana Matilde Gomez removed (suspended) from her position as the Attorney General of Panama for political reasons. All of this took place after 1 January 2010, once Martinelli had appointed two new judges to the Supreme Court, giving him virtual control. They (of course) voted to suspend Ana Matilde Gomez while this investigation moves forward, opening the door for Martinelli to appoint Giuseppe Bonissi, who remains in the position as the "replacement" Attorney General. There are questions as to the constitutionality of all of this, but since it's being done by the Supreme Court, who's going to stop it. What I am still not really clear on are the facts in the case surrounding the wiretaps ordered by Ana Matilde Gomez. My understanding of all of this is a little fuzzy, and from what I thing right now, when she ordered the wiretaps she was acting legally and within her powers, but then later something changed and what she did was made illegal, and now that is being applied in retrospect or retroactively against her. Like I said, I have to get clearer on this, but that's my understanding right now. And, Gomez has said publicly on many occasions that she expects to be tried, found guilty, and condemned. That no matter what defense she presents it just won't matter because the case was decided against her a long time ago. She's probably right.

Deep Background: Back during the administration of Martin Torrijos I had occasion to have contact with some of the people who were working within the Public Ministry. All of the prosecutors in Panama work for the Public Ministry, and the "boss" is the Attorney General. This entire government structure is supposed to be "independent" politically speaking but in reality it doesn't work out that way. In any case, early in the Martin Torrijos administration I was quickly impressed with Ana Matilde Gomez. She had some run ins with Graciela Dixon, a hard cord PRD gringo hater from way back, who was serving as the President of the Supreme Court at that time. I mentioned to someone that I liked Ana Matilde Gomez and that I was fairly impressed with the job she was doing. They looked at me like I was the most ignorant person in the world, and said "you have no idea what she's really doing. She makes a great public face, and one day I'll tell you all about what has really been going on around here." Yup, I had been bamboozled by AMG, and later I learned the truth. They went after her for any number of reasons, and this wiretapping thing is just the first thing they could use to generate enough traction to rip her out by the roots. In Panama, practically nothing is as it seems on first blush. There's always many layers to the onion. Use caution in making up your mind on issues too early, You might find out later that you had been fooled.   

The prosecution also recently pressed charges against Carlos González Carrasquilla, a former employee of Enrique Pretelt, the son - in - law of the former president. Gonzalez Carrasquilla appeared as president and sole shareholder of Lucky Games SA before the Gaming Control Board (JCJ), information that later proved to be false, according to the institution. Lucky Games Inc. received a free and direct concession from the administration of Perez Balladares, and made regular deposits to bank accounts controlled by the former president, through Shelf Holding Inc. Prosecutors have not applied any control measures against Gonzalez and Tobiasson.

Of the 14 charged, only five are prohibited from leaving the country and they must report every 15 days to the prosecutor's office: Pérez Balladares, Eyda Achón (the private secretary of the former president), Vicente Calderón, Tomás González de la Barrera and Henry Mon Woo. It was learned that Perez Balladares could report to the prosecutor's office today, in order to comply with the prosecutor's order, as well as to review the case file. Roosevelt Lito Thayer, a personal friend of the former president and the Minister of Housing in his administration, also appears as a defendant, but has a looser precautionary measure: is forbidden to change residence without notifying the prosecutor. The other six accused in this case are Ricardo Caputo, Adelio Green Navarro, Jaime Eduardo Espino, Jenifher Espino de Sheppard, Rómulo Abad and Saideth Ortíz Chávez de Rivera, but they (like Tobiasson and González Carrasquilla) do not have any preventative measures applied to them.

The prosecution is still awaiting reports from the auditors of the Criminal Investigation Branch of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, who advised that they need more time to practice audits on the accounts of Pty Adventures Inc., Joyas del Mundo, Grupo Granate and Kestel Management Inc., which, according to the investigation, received money from Lucky Games, SA. Subsequently, the four companies transferred the funds to banks accounts of Shelf Holding Inc., controlled by Perez Balladares. (La Prensa)   

The investigation into Thayer is part of the judicial investigation being carried out by prosecutor Jose Ayu Prado against former President Ernesto Perez Balladares, who is also indicted for money laundering, and who is under orders not to leave the country. Thayer declined to be exhausted. "I wanted to come to fulfill my civic duty and clear up a lot of doubts the prosecutor had, and I think I explained a lot. Also, I think the file is already in its final part," he said. Supposedly, Roosevelt “Lito” Thayer and Enrique Pretelt, the son-in-law of the former president, owned shares of the companies Gaming & Services de Panamá S.A. and Lucky Games S.A., from which monies were issued to a bank account held by the company Shelf Holding Inc., allegedly controlled by Perez Balladares. Twelve people were originally linked to this case, and eleven of those are now under some type of judicial control or restriction, however the last person was left out of the case because the prosecutor determined that person didn't have anything to do with the scandal. (Panama America)