To jail: Gabriel Antonio Mora Ramirez alias Canoa and Eddy Morfe de la Cruz

By caba8255 on August 31, 2017.

Canoa, ex-union member of the Cabarete district board sentenced to 2 years in prison
Home » News » Canoe, former member of the Cabarete district board sentenced to 2 years in prison


Today the sentence of the court of appeal of the court of Puerto Plata has been read and that court condemned to Gabriel Antonio Mora Ramirez alias Canoa and to Eddy Morfe de la Cruz, to 2 years of jail in San Felipe of Puerto Plata.

Eddy Morfe attended the reading unlike Canoa who did not appear in the reading of the sentence.

The Puerto Plata appeals court revoked the sentence of September 1, 2014, where both were unloaded from the irregularities for 180 million pesos in the district council of Cabarete. The public ministry was represented by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for the Persecution of Administrative Corruption ( PEPCA )

The appellate court also fineed Canoa for a sum in excess of 800,000 pesos and Eddy Morfe to 900,000 pesos.

Tomorrow, we will have the sentence and we can give more details.

http://cabaretenoticias.com/2017/08...tal-de-cabarete-condenado-a-2-anos-de-carcel/

Some history on this case:

By caba8255 on August 11, 2017.

Translation and Localization
Elcaribe.com.do - Manuel Quiterio Cedeño - August 11, 2017

Last August, the trial of Gabriel Antonio Mora (Canoa) and Eddy Morfe, accused of the embezzlement of RD $ 185 million in the District Board of Cabarete, ended in the Puerto Plata Court of Appeal. The court composed of magistrates Juan Suardí García (president), Xiomara Tineo Reyes, Francisco Antonio Sánchez, Miguelina de Jesus Beard and Aloide de Jesús Matías Cueto, will read the sentence on August 31.

This process was initiated with a complaint from the Attorney General's Office (PGR), filed in 2012. The preliminary hearing began in May 2013. From that time until August 2014, when the defendants were discharged, there were seven referrals for medical certificates submitted by the defendants, for non-appearance of witnesses, because no document was notified, or because they had no money to pay lawyers.

Canoa hired Pedro Balbuena as a lawyer, who a few months earlier had abandoned the position of Chief Justice of the Puerto Plata Court of Appeal. In September 2014, they were discharged due to lack of evidence despite the large and detailed file submitted by the PGR. The court was composed of Rosa França Liriano Lantigua, Irina Ventura Castillo and Benecia Altagracia Rojas Cruz.

The prosecution of Puerto Plata appealed the judgment and the process restarted in October 2014. It was resent several times for lack of lawyers, because no documents were notified, or because lawyers need time to know the file. The sentence will be read two years and 10 months after the appeal is filed.

This history of Canoa began in 2005, with an audit of the Chamber of Account, "unfinished", which uncovered the scandalous embezzlement of Municipal Board resources. The next chapter was an arrest warrant in 2008 for causing serious damage to the Cabarete Lagoon.

In 2012, he was arrested for firing (his pistol at) a taxi driver, and in July of that same year a new audit was published in the District Board, which found an embezzlement of RD $ 119 million in the period 2004-2010. In August, the PGR filed an indictment and requested coercive measures.

In February 2013, the PGR, led by Francisco Domínguez Brito, presented the new complaint, this time for embezzlement of RD $ 185 million in the period 2004-2010. In March, Eusebia Valdez complained that she had sold him a public property; in July, Raquel Sierra complained, because Canoa issued checks of the Board to his name charged irregularly.

In 2011, the Association for the Development of Cabarete was sued for falsification of public deed; and in February 2012, again for violating the law of free access to public information. Finally, in November 2013 the Superior Electoral Court suspended him as district director. In each case or the complaints are withdrawn or the judge favors Canoa. With little hope of justice, it only remains to say: May God save Cabarete!

http://cabaretenoticias.com/2017/08...de-manuel-quiterio-cedeno-en-elcaribe-com-do/

Home » News » The Court of Appeal condemns Canoa to fine and serve two years in prison - summary tourism by Manuel Quiterio Cedeño
By caba8255 on September 1, 2017.
Summary Tourism - Manuel Quiterio Cedeño - 1st of September 2017

Yesterday the Puerto Appeal Court, composed of judges Francisco Antonio Sanchez, second substitute judge, Manuel Urena Martinez and Onasis E. Pelegrin, read the sentence condemning Gabriel Antonio Mora (Canoa) and Eddy Morfe accused of the embezzlement of RD $ 185 million in the District Board of Cabarete. Canoa and his buddy began to appear in the media, mainly in the Caribbean, 10 years ago. First they became famous because they gave to an unknown private company the management and collection of municipal taxes. But the first signs of corruption appeared in a House Audit audit of municipal resource management in 2004. Later, thanks to the push of the virtually disappeared Cabarete Development Association and its president Michel Gay-Crosier, the country was able to know the scandalous embezzlement of the funds of the Cabarete District Board. To reach the sentence read yesterday, 13 years have gone by, two audits, a voluminous complaint by the Attorney General's Office led by Dominguez Brito, damages to the Laguna de Cabarete, a complaint for the sale of a public property, a charge for shooting a taxi driver and a long etcetera. The Caribbean, first under the leadership of Manuel Quiroz and after Osvaldo Santana, has allowed me to fuel this battle against corruption and impunity, from my column on Fridays, in which in 40 articles I approached the "Tema Canoa" , to encourage the small group of Cabarete, mainly Michel, to go ahead; and to prevent the questionable political leadership of Puerto Plata from getting away with theirs, protecting Canoa and Morfe to avoid their condemnation for using Cabarete resources to their advantage. The trial of Canoa and Mofe began with a complaint by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) filed in 2012, seven years after the "unfinished" 2005 audit that uncovered the scandalous embezzlement of district court appeals. The trial began in May 2013 and in August 2014, after seven referrals, the defendants were discharged for insufficient evidence, by the trial court composed of Rosa França Liriano Lantigua, Irina Ventura Castillo and Benecia Altagracia Rojas Cruz. The persistent media denunciation supported mainly by the Caribbean, prevented the "Canoa Case" from ending in the zafacón of the shame. Instead, he made it an issue of national interest,

http://cabaretenoticias.com/2017/09...n-resumen-turismo-por-manuel-quiterio-cedeno/

Ex Mayor of Cabarete Jailed

Not sure if this was already posted:

On Monday, 20 August 2018, the former directors of the Municipal District Board of Cabarete, Puerto Plata province, Gabriel Antonio Mora Ramírez (Canoa) and Eddy Ramón Morfe, were arrested following the decision by the Supreme Court of Justice to confirm the two-year prison sentence following their conviction for embezzling RD$185 million while they were in charge of the district of Cabarete from 2004 and 2010.

The Specialized Prosecution Service for the Persecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) said in a press release that the Supreme Court had rejected an appeal to annul the ruling.

The two were convicted last year by a Puerto Plata appeals court after a previous court had found them not guilty.




http://www.nicepeoplenetworking.com/2018/08/cabarete-ex-mayor-jailed/