The District Attorney of Santo Domingo, Maximo Aristy Caraballo, stated that he has ?a space to lodge ex-officials [of the Fernandez administration] who refuse to respond to subpoenas.? Former Secretary to the President, Alexandrina German, has refused to appear before the special anti-corruption prosecutor to answer questions about alleged improprieties in the awarding of U.S. university scholarships. Another top official of the Fernandez government, Simon Lizardo, chose to appear and respond to questions regarding the Program of Evaluation of Minimum Employment (PEME), a scheme in which suspected rabble-rousers received government grants to ?stay cool.? Lizardo affirmed, ?I am not afraid to be called to answer before any public official.? Queried by reporters in regard to the German summons, President Hipolito Mejia said, ?If she doesn?t want to come, let her not come,? but adding that a bench warrant might be issued to compel her appearance. At a news conference, German stated that she would appear before the anti-corruption prosecutor only if a bench warrant would be issued. She also characterized as ?irresponsible? the charges of irregularities in the award of scholarships to the University of Utah. She invited the Attorney General to look at the facts more closely and to stop making the meritorious recipients of the scholarships so nervous The Attorney General?s office has announced that indictments will be made public next week.
