A woman and her daughter were accused of taking US$160,000 dollars (approximately 8 million pesos) from a safe in the residence of Berlinesa Franco, the widow of the late Mayor of Santo Domingo Este Juan de Los Santos (Juancito). The accusations date back to August 2019, and were reported in Listin Diario on 4 December 2019.
The accused are maid María Saturnina Gómez Montero and her daughter Osvaldina Rivas Gómez (Yaniris or Yaineli), who worked as a nanny in the same household.
The news story says that at the time María Saturnina Gómez was remanded in custody for three months by the judge of the Permanent Attention Court of the National District. Magistrate José Alejandro Vargas ordered the woman to serve her prison sentence at the Najayo Women’s Jail. Osvaldina Rivas Gómez (Yaniris or Yaineli), who worked as a nanny, was allowed to post bail due to her late state of pregnancy.
The court took the decision after partially accepting the request for pre-trial detention presented by the prosecutor Carlos Manuel Hernández. The women are accused of removing US$160,000 in various items that were kept in a safe in a closet of a room in the residence.
Berlinesa Franco was appointed director of the National Institute for Early Childhood (INAIPI) after the death of her husband. Juan de los Santos was murdered on 15 December 2015 by at gunshot by a disgruntled employee. In addition to the Santo Domingo East city government, he operated the Juancito Sport sports betting chain of stores. Berlinesa Franco is sister to Marisol Franco, former spouse and mother of two baby twins of Cesar Emilio Peralta. Peralta was recently arrested in Colombia for alleged drug trafficking.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
4 December 2019