Diario Libre reports on the court hearing held in room 15B of the US Southern District Federal Court in New York, where five more Dominicans are facing charges in connection with the Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo case. Judge Kimba Wood heard the pleas by twins Luis David and Jean Paul Ulloa, as well as Juan Alfredo Cruz Crisostomo, Richard Mejia Pena and Jose Ortega de Leon (Chico). All pleaded “not guilty” to the charges against them. The court ordered the next hearing to be held on 6 September. Paulino Castillo is the alleged head of a group arrested on drug trafficking charges in relation to the seizure of more than 1,300 kilos of cocaine in Santo Domingo last December. He is also awaiting trial in New York. Listin Diario reports that Juan Alfredo Cruz Crisostomo, who is accused of money laundering in relation to the case, served as minister-without-portfolio in the Hipolito Mejia administration. The information was supplied by Cruz himself to TV journalist Nuria Piera during an interview in March 2002, when she investigated the case of false postage stamps being sold to tourists. Gift shop owners had said Cruz was responsible for distributing the stamps. He denied the accusation at the time.