The latest legal suit announced by San Juan de la Maguana senator Felix Bautista is against journalist Juan Taveras Hernandez (Juan TH) and the owner of the Z-101 radio station, Willy Rodriguez, for defamation. The controversial senator headed the Supervisory Office for Public Works of the Presidency during the Leonel Fernandez administration, and is known as a rags-to-riches case. The senator’s lawyers, Francisco Alvarez and Marino Feliz accused Juan TH of slander in his mentions of the senator and are seeking RD$50 million in damages.
The lawyers said that on 30 August 2013, Juan TH said on the radio: Felix Bautista is a thief that has stolen the country”. They claim the communicator is in violation with articles 29, 30, 31 letter b), 33, 34 and 35 of Law 6132. The lawyers say that the journalist will have to prove that Bautista has stolen the country and to prove this they will have to present a definitive judgment by the Supreme Court of Justice. This year, Felix Bautista also sued authors Jaime Aristy Escuder, Jose Alejandro Ayuso and Andres Mateo for libel in a Miami, Florida court regarding the publication of a book “The Dark Side of Sun Land”. The book is about the Sunland financial intermediary case in which the close aide of former President Fernandez played a key role. Bautista says the book claims that the works built in the state university UASD as per Sun Land contract were overvalued by US$112 million, and he says he can prove this was not the case.
Félix Bautista demanda a Juan TH y a la Z-101 por RD$50 millones