NewsWhore
11-30-2011, 11:50 AM
In what is not a very good show by the Dominican justice system, Manuel Arturo Pellerano and Juan Felipe Mendoza are still in jail. Everyday citizens consulted in the National District yesterday said that it was unfair and even abusive that Manuel Arturo Pellerano and Juan Felipe Mendoza should still be imprisoned at the Najayo jail, despite having paid back all debts to their creditors and the fact that the Attorney General and the Central Bank have withdrawn their complaints against the pair. As they complete their third year in prison, the members of the public who were interviewed said that they did not understand why two men, with no charges against them, neither public nor private, were still in prison, and they suggested a review of the case. Several interviewees agreed that the justice system has committed an indiscretion with both Pellerano and Mendoza, for having them in prison for such a long time without an accusation that justifies their imprisonment. "If he served what he should have (Pellerano), he should get out, but things are like that in this country," said Lucibelis Familia, who was interviewed on a street in Santo Domingo.
In the first instance, Pellerano and Mendoza were sentenced to three years in prison, during a trial in which no witnesses testified and where not one valid document was presented as evidence. The basis for the sentence was a supposed audit by the KPMG accounting firm, which certified that they did not issue that opinion. Later, in a move that many describe as suspicious, the sentence was increased to eight years by the Court of Appeals. This sentence was confirmed by the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice The Justice Department itself had said that this case was not of a criminal (penal) nature, but rather a civil suit on debt collection and despite all this the Department of Prevention of Corruption retained the case, without it being a case of public corruption and so it went to trial. At that time the Attorney General of the Republic withdrew the charges of its criminal prosecution in the appeals process. Therefore, Pellerano and Mendoza are in jail by way of an irregular sentence, with no public or private accusers and after having satisfied their debts with all of their creditors.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
In the first instance, Pellerano and Mendoza were sentenced to three years in prison, during a trial in which no witnesses testified and where not one valid document was presented as evidence. The basis for the sentence was a supposed audit by the KPMG accounting firm, which certified that they did not issue that opinion. Later, in a move that many describe as suspicious, the sentence was increased to eight years by the Court of Appeals. This sentence was confirmed by the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice The Justice Department itself had said that this case was not of a criminal (penal) nature, but rather a civil suit on debt collection and despite all this the Department of Prevention of Corruption retained the case, without it being a case of public corruption and so it went to trial. At that time the Attorney General of the Republic withdrew the charges of its criminal prosecution in the appeals process. Therefore, Pellerano and Mendoza are in jail by way of an irregular sentence, with no public or private accusers and after having satisfied their debts with all of their creditors.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)