According to El Nuevo Diario, former Army Captain Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, best known simply as “Quirino”, left the United States Federal Witness Protection Program in 2014 and went to the Dominican Consulate to apply for a passport on 28 November 2014, which he said had been lost, as well as his Dominican identity card (cedula). This information was provided by the Central Electoral Board (JCE).
After obtaining the documents, Quirino returned to the consulate and spoke to hundreds of other Dominicans who were there applying for documents, which is how it was revealed that he had apparently left the United States Witness Protection program that he entered after his release from jail on 24 January 2014. He served a jail sentence for a 1,387 kilo shipment of cocaine seized in the Dominican Republic in 2004.
The self-confessed drug dealer, who in a series of telephone calls to Dominican radio programs has accused the PLD president, former President Leonel Fernandez of owing him money for past contributions, is now said to be living alone in an apartment somewhere in New York.
El Nuevo Diario tried to call him to verify his identity, but there was no answer.
Quirino’s new identity card, issued on 28 November 2014, gives his place of birth as Elias Pina province and birth date as 8 September 1960, which means he is 54 years old. His previous identity card expired in 2008 while he was in prison in Brooklyn.
When his passport was issued he was asked when he would be next travelling and he responded by saying he did not know. According to his lawyer in the Dominican Republic, Carlos Balcacer, he is planning to come to the country this March.
Some Dominicans say they have seen Quirino on the streets of Upper Manhattan and he has also been spotted in restaurants in the area populated by thousands of Dominicans.
His lawyer in New York, Lawrence F. Ruggiero, did not return phone calls.
According to Quirino’s immigration status, he is neither a citizen nor a resident of the US, so if he were to return to the Dominican Republic, he could not legally re-enter the United States. According to an immigration specialist, he is unlikely to be given any special treatment and allowed to return.
On Tuesday, 17 February 2015, the El Gobierno de la Tarde (FM Z101.3) afternoon radio show received a call from a man claiming to be Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo. The caller said he was no longer under the US judiciary’s witness protection program. He challenged Dominican prosecutors to carry out an investigation into the drug trafficking case for which he was arrested.
He claimed that while the official version says that US$22 million of his assets in the Dominican Republic had been confiscated, the true value was much greater. http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=412179
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2015/02/18/i182592_quirino-dispuesto-someterse-detector-mentiras-dice-salio-programa-proteccion.html
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=412179
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2015/02/18/i182592_quirino-dispuesto-someterse-detector-mentiras-dice-salio-programa-proteccion.html
http://acento.com.do/2015/actualidad/8222428-balcacer-afirma-quirino-vendra-en-marzo/