The head of the Justice Ministry?s anti-corruption office confirmed that the former internal auditor of the National Lottery (LN) and an uncle of his who supplied the LN with ?scratch-and-win? lottery cards have been ?detained? since Monday. Jesus Feliz, the special anti-corruption prosecutor stated that Frank Lopez and his uncle, Ismael Lopez Sanchez, are in custody as a result of an accusation by Guido Gomez Mazara, Legal Counsel to the President. It is alleged that during the administration of LN Director Francisco Javier Garcia, a person ?related to ? Garcia had made monthly bank deposits of US$200,000 monthly. According to Frank Reynaldo Fermin, the lawyer representing Lopez Sanchez, a person identified only as Norberto, known to be a Lottery ticket wholesaler, cashed all the checks. Fermin stated that his client is the representative of an American company that manufactures the ?frakatan” (scratch-and-win) cards, and receives a commission of DR$1.75 for each packet of cards sold. He added that his client scarcely knew the LN?s Garcia, and is a businessman who for the past fifteen years has run a tour bus company.
