Despite being under arrest for fraud, Colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico has continued to collect a RD$180,000 check each from the air force, army and navy for his position as head of the mess hall at the Ministry of Armed Forces. Goico was suspended from his official role as security chief of President Hipolito Mejia after his involvement in the credit card fiasco that Baninter quantified at RD$40 million. Baninter later declined to press charges.
The mess hall serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to 800 to 1,000 military members every day. Diario Libre reports that Goico received the monthly stipulations and managed the mess hall as a side business, not having to report his costs to the military.
The revelation came to light since the air force issued the check to Goico?s name, contrary to the army and the navy which wrote out their checks to the order of the post title, keeping its beneficiary anonymous.
The morning talk show ?El Gobierno de la Ma?ana? first leaked the news about the lucrative post, and the story was subsequently picked up by the Show del Mediodia and then the press in general.
The mess hall head is appointed by the Minister of the Armed Forces. The case against Goico for credit fraud was investigated by a high commission at the Ministry of Armed Forces, which was criticized as a violation of normal judicial procedures.
