PLD senator Felix Bautista has reached an agreement with economist Jaime Aristy Escuder and lawyer Jose Alejandro Ayuso to drop the defamation suit following the publication of a book on the Sunland financing operation described in the “The Dark Side of Sun Land.”
Aristy and Ayuso signed a 10-part agreement:
1) Jaime Aristy Escuder, author of “The Dark Side of the Sun Land,” acknowledges that the book was not written with defamatory intent or in bad faith.
2) The parties acknowledge that the book was prepared using information available to date, mainly published in the media and testimonies.
3) Jaime Aristy Escuder, author of “The Dark Side of the Sun Land”, recognizes that documents that became available after the publication clarified inaccuracies contained in the book and are aware of judicial decisions in the Dominican Republic, such as resolution 03093 that stated that “there has been no violation of any of the standards that would make them punishable.”
4) The parties are made aware that a hearing carried out by the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA), determined that works performed on the contract signed by the Dominican State with Sun Land for the UASD constructions were carried out at “reasonable market prices, taking into consideration the cost of equipment and technology.”
5) The parties are made aware that, according to court decision 03093 “any evidence of criminal responsibility is discarded regarding officials responsible for the hiring and supervision of these works.” The legal decision states that the Dominican state was not affected and on the contrary the works have been used for the social purposes for which they were designed.
6) The parties acknowledge that the legal process of “discovery” allowed that the information presented in the book be confirmed and clarified.
7) Jose Alejandro Ayuso stated that he wrote the foreword in the book “The Dark Side of the Sun Land” using its content and notes the statements and court decisions cited above.
8) The parties agree to end the litigation that was underway in Miami, Florida courts.
9) The parties desist from bringing any legal action in Dominican or foreign jurisdiction regarding the book or its content.
10) The Sun Land recognizes the validity of statements previously mentioned in this agreement, adheres to the same and agrees not to sue the Dominican state for this case.
Bautista sued Aristy and Ayuso after the book was released in Florida.
The announcement of the end of the suit coincides with media attention on the legal case against the senator being brought by Prosecutor General Francisco Dominguez Brito. Recently, the Attorney General Office announced it has placed a legal embargo on a large number of assets reportedly belonging to the Sociedad Inmobiliaria Rofi, SRL, of which senator Felix Bautista (PLD-San Juan de la Maguana) is the leading known shareholder. The move came as part of an investigation underway by the Specialized Prosecutors for Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (PEPCA). It includes the confiscation of 40 buildings with eight apartments each, a high-rise building with 16 floors and another with 14 floors. The list of 100 properties spans the country.
Diario Libre reported that the senator has submitted a legal recourse through the Supreme Court of Justice. Judge Frank Soto Sanchez is in charge of hearing the request.
Felix Bautista is the organizational secretary of the ruling PLD party and is known as one of former President Leonel Fernandez’s closest aides. He is best known for his rags to riches story. In his first public worth statement upon entering government during the first Fernandez administration (1996-2000) he registered assets of half a million pesos, and when he was sworn in as senator in 2010 he declared RD$16 million in assets. Since 2014, the Prosecutor General Office says the preliminary research links the senator to more than RD$3 billion in assets in around 158 properties.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/10/01/i816471_procuradura-embarga-apartamentos-villas-casas-fbricas-flix-bautista.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Bautista
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2014/10/12/341158/Jaime-Aristy-Escuder-se-retracta-de-acusaciones-contra-Felix-Bautista-y
http://acento.com.do/2014/actualidad/8181944-revelan-felix-bautista-tiene-mas-de-rd3-mil-millones-en-inmuebles/