District prosecutor Jose Manuel Hernandez requested the start of the case against 59 police officers, including generals and colonels, for irregular use of stolen vehicles that the police had recovered and not notified the recovery to the owners. Of the 59 officers, 42 are still active in the police. Named in the case is former chief of the Police, Jaime Marte Martinez and several of his close collaborators.
The case sent to judge Doris Pujols Ortiz would look into the participation of police officer in the fraudulent scheme during the past administration.
Hernandez said that the case of another 361 vehicles that were allotted in previous administrations would be looked into in a separate investigation. El Nacional newspaper recently revealed that the practice of allotting recovered vehicles to persons other than the owners dates back to the government of then President Salvador Jorge Blanco (1988), but was continued in following governments, including that of President Leonel Fernandez (1996-2000).