Extortion in onion crop scandal

[NewsWhore]

The president of the Vallejuelo Farmers Board, Simeona Morillo Vicente and Sister Maria Marciano, director of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters, have stated that each onion farmer was made to pay Ministry of Agriculture officials between RD$10,000 and RD$50,000 just for weighing their onion crops. Both women stated clearly that it is not enough to fire those responsible, but that they must be brought before the courts to answer for their actions. Morillo Vicente revealed that during the first week of the harvest, everything was normal, but in the following week those in charge of weighing the onions began to engage in extortion. Meanwhile, Marciano said she felt that high-ranking Ministry of Agriculture officials should also be investigated, saying, "this is not something from below, this is something that has to be investigated a little higher up." The Bishop of San Juan de la Maguana, Jose Dolores Grullon described the extortion as "criminal", according to Listin Diario, and called for those responsible to be punished. The Ministry of Agriculture said that the final report on the case is almost complete and will be handed over to the Justice Department for action. According to Morillo Vicente, if the farmers did not pay, their crops were not weighed. In another scam, the people in charge of weighing would put several farmer's crops together for weighing, allowing for the inclusion of some family members as owners of the crop. According to the two whistle blowers, this sort of thing has been going on for years.

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