The president of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Judicial Branch Committee, Mariano German Mejia has revealed that suspended National District judge, Awilda Reyes Beltre, has admitted that she accepted money in return for issuing favorable decisions.
At a press conference yesterday, Monday 23 November 2015 German Mejia said that Reyes Beltre had said that she had done what she was told to do by her superiors but added in his own defense that the superiors she mentioned were nothing to do with either him or any other Judicial Branch members.
German did not say who the orders were from, and passed the ball to judge Reyes. “I believe the greatest challenge ahead for this judge, a highly qualified young woman, is that she should say from whom she received or who ordered her to accept that money,” he said.
As reported in the press, complaints have been submitted to the Supreme Court against the judge since 2012, but the disciplinary measure of suspension without wages has only just been announced.
In his defense, German said that it was the worst kind of slander to insinuate that he or any member of his family had anything to do with the actions of lower-ranking judges.
Speaking about Reyes Beltre’s actual decisions, he mentioned the return of the Cessna aircraft that had been confiscated from the president of the bankrupt Peravia Bank, Jose Luis Santoro and the US$20 million returned to Prado Universal Corporation, which built Atiemar Tower and whose president, Arturo del Tiempo, has been convicted of drug dealing in Spain.
She also released the councilor for Pedro Brand municipality, Erinson de los Santos Solis, who was under investigation on suspicion of heading a criminal organization that stole land and was allegedly behind cases of kidnapping, extortion and murder.
German commented that information about these cases has been published in various media outlets and has shaken the country, leading to him being questioned about the values and principles that should prevail the justice system.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/justicia/jueza-suspendida-admite-que-acepto-dinero-para-resolver-casos-por-ordenes-superiores-XC1958653
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2015/11/23/i200833_presidente-scj-revela-jueza-cobro-soborno-para-liberar-regidor-procesado-por-sicariato.html