NewsWhore
07-17-2008, 04:30 PM
Ramon Baez Figueroa and Marcos Baez Cocco, who were sentenced to 10 years in jail each for their roles in the Baninter banking scandal, entered Najayo jail last night at 8:45pm. El Caribe quotes Baez Figueroa as saying "it's over now," as he arrived at Najayo with family members and lawyers. Prison director Jose Sandoval guaranteed that both would be safe and said that a special area of the jail had been designated for Figueroa and Cocco. The men, however, will have separate cells. The order to send the two men to jail was granted after an appeal request by Baez Figueroa and Baez Cocco's lawyers was denied. The appeal asked for the men to remain free until the case was heard by the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ). Both men are due for release on Saturday 9 December 2017. The judges in the case also ordered the defendants to pay RD$490,000 in fines. A third convict in the banking scandal, Luis Alvarez Renta will appear before judges at the courthouse in Ciudad Nueva and is expected to join Figueroa and Cocco in jail no later than today. As for the fourth person implicated in the Baninter fraud case, Vivian Lubrano, El Caribe writes that the former bank executive's lawyer will submit documents to the courts today proving that Lubrano is in a critical state of health. Lubrano's daughter Katerin Castillo Lubrano says that if her mother could die if removed from the hospital and forced to serve her sentence. Lubrano is a patient at the Abel Gonzalez Advanced Medicine Center, although it is not clear what Lubrano is suffering from.
The conclusion of the trial and the resulting sentences are a big step for the Dominican judicial system. Critics have argued that a blind eye has been turned to multi-million dollar corruption cases, but this case could prove that the Dominican judicial system is willing to prosecute offenders, no matter how rich. It also demonstrates the strength of the system and could result in a favorable reaction from many citizens who have lost faith in the system.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
The conclusion of the trial and the resulting sentences are a big step for the Dominican judicial system. Critics have argued that a blind eye has been turned to multi-million dollar corruption cases, but this case could prove that the Dominican judicial system is willing to prosecute offenders, no matter how rich. It also demonstrates the strength of the system and could result in a favorable reaction from many citizens who have lost faith in the system.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)