Nicolas Diana
09/01/2021 18:41
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 09/01/2021 18:49
The situation of federal judge Walter Bento, prosecuted for bribery, laundering and illicit enrichment, became even more complicated.
After the confirmation of his prosecution by the Federal Chamber of Mendoza, the PRO deputy Pablo Tonelli asked that the Council of the Magistracy authorize the arrest of the magistrate and his suspension from office.
In a letter sent to the president of the organization Diego Molea, Tonelli maintained that "the prosecution and the order of preventive detention -which are in force against Bento- are final and passed in res judicata authority" and that in this context it corresponds "to give formal processing of the communication received so that the plenary of this Council takes cognizance of the letter received, puts the matter for consideration and resolves the temporary exemption from the privilege of immunity from arrest of the magistrate in question, as well as the temporary release of his position as long as the custodial order provided by the Judicial Power is in force and operative. "
In the concrete facts,
Tonelli wants the Magistracy to remove the privileges so that the federal Justice can arrest him.
According to the opposition councilor, Bento himself was the one who decided not to appeal his prosecution and thus consented to his arrest.
"It is decisive to note that the magistrate
has voluntarily and expressly withdrawn from the appeal,"
explained Tonelli.
Bento made that decision last week and announced that he would go to international courts.
With this framework, Tonelli requested that the Council "enable a temporary exemption from the privilege of immunity from arrest of the magistrate in question."
The judge's lawyer, Mariano Cúneo Libarona, told
Clarín
that his client "did not consist of the prosecution, but gave up the appeal
to go directly to oral proceedings where we will turn the accusation around."
Deputy Pablo Tonelli asked to remove the jurisdiction of Judge Walter Bento.
Photos Federico López Claro.
The counselor sought to differentiate the lifting of the privileges and the temporary suspension of what would be a political trial against the magistrate, a process that is already underway and runs in parallel to this request.
"It is not necessary for the magistrate to be formally dismissed by the Jury of Prosecution so that immunity can be temporarily waived and the arrest made effective," explained Tonelli.
Bento, in addition to being a federal judge, has electoral jurisdiction in Mendoza.
It was bequeathed to federal court 1 of the province in 2005 and was proposed by Nestor Kirchner, who at that time sent his shortlist to the Senate for approval.
Today, despite having a firm prosecution, he is still in office.
His assets were inhibited and he has an embargo for 327 million pesos that also falls on his wife Marta Boiza, also a judicial career.
Justice maintains that he was the head of an illicit association that was dedicated to benefit prisoners in exchange for money.
Part of the case investigates how he made his fortune, which for Justice is impossible to explain.
His history includes regular trips to Miami and Las Vegas with stays of more than a month, three Audi cars, an Amarok truck, 12 properties and million-dollar investments in trusts.
In the letter, Tonelli maintains that despite having a pretrial order and an indictment,
Bento continues to exercise his position and "impart Justice" only because the arrest could not be carried out.
"It is very difficult, under these conditions, to explain to public opinion and especially to the defendants,
that a judge who should be imprisoned
daily resolves the cases that are processed in the court of which he is the holder and
decides on honor, freedom and the fortune of those who are subject to its jurisdiction "
, closed the counselor.