The death of Maradona: 'Luque as a doctor was a big fan,' said Stinfale about the main defendant in the case

09/03/2021 12:12

• Clarín.com

• Police

Updated 09/03/2021 12:24

The lawyer Víctor Stinfale declared in court that he saw Leopoldo Luque as "a good friend" or "a great fan" of Diego Armando Maradona (60) but not as a prestigious doctor to operate on him, he pointed out that in the home hospitalization "no nothing was done "that had been talked about and he questioned the fact that they believed the only problem was alcohol when" his heart died. "

Stinfale testified in the San Isidro attorney general's office in the framework of the case in which seven health professionals are charged with alleged "murder with eventual intent."

Prosecutors Cosme Iribarren, Patricio Ferrari and Laura Capra wanted to know what role he had in the decisions that were made regarding neurosurgery for a subdural hematoma to which Maradona was subjected on November 3 at the Olivos Clinic and its subsequent Externalization to the house of Tigre where he died on the 25th of that month.

According to the testimonial statement, the lawyer said that he met Maradona in 2000, that he initially advised him on legal matters but

was never his attorney-in-fact

and that "a friendship developed with him until the day of his death."

He explained that on November 3, he saw through the media that "he had a brain problem" and a press conference for Luque.

"I didn't know Luque. I saw him on TV when he said he was an addict. I called (Matías) Morla and told him who that idiot is saying this. The idea was to preserve Diego. If you talk about Diego Let it be on sports shows and not gossip shows, "Stinfale said.

The witness explained that he got Luque's phone number, called him, he explained that he had everything prepared to operate on Maradona at the Olivos Clinic and that he told him "that will not be the case."

"Through my senses, I realized that I had no back to operate on Maradona. I told him textually 'skinny, get me the best four in Argentina because I won't let you enter the clinic,'" Stinfale recalled.

"Perhaps if he had resigned that day, what is happening would not be happening," said the lawyer about the main defendant in the case for the death of "10".

In several sections of his testimonial, Stinfale insisted that he did not see Luque as a prestigious doctor: "When I arrived (at the clinic) Luque was already shaking hands with Diego. The reality is that he did not seem like a doctor, he seemed to me a good friend, a good fan. That was my impression. "

He clarified that the decision to have other doctors operate on him and not Luque was not only his but also from a dialogue he had in the clinic with Gianinna Maradona.

"I told him that this boy could not operate, I saw him as a kid

(...) and Giannina tells me verbatim 'finally one who thinks like me,'" he said.

The lawyer reported that he informed Luque that he was not going to participate in the operation, he acknowledged that they had "a run-in", but that later the neurosurgeon accepted it.

"I tell him 'stay calm Leopoldo that when the operation is over you will give the press conference and become world champion,' he explained, referring to the fact that that day Luque spoke to the media as if he had done the surgery.

"When he returns from the operation that Diego is brought in, Luque squats down and begins to cry, he went into a state of emotion, as if shocked. I noticed a very strong feeling from Luque towards Diego," he acknowledged.

He added: "They had an affection for each other. Luque as a doctor was a huge fan."

Then, he explained that due to the problems that Morla had with the daughters, they asked him to participate in the meeting on November 10 where the decision was made to leave Tigre's house.

"The point was to agree on how the process was going to be in Tigre. There was a point that was the main one that was to ensure that alcohol did not enter the house," he said and recalled that Diego's sisters or daughters said that the home hospitalization was "going to cover Swiss Medical, there would be an ambulance, as they had support from the private work."

To questions from the prosecutors about how he evaluates this hospitalization, he replied: "From what you hear, read and learn from the media,

nothing was done that was discussed in the clinic

.

"

"Maradona was swollen, with 110 beats at rest. It was heart failure, you don't have to have so much knowledge to realize that," he said.

"Deep down, what I think is that they believed that the problem was alcohol and he died of his heart. There, everyone thought that taking the alcohol was solved, but it went the other way," he said.

Finally, when asked why Morla mentioned him as "the boss" in an audio of the cause he sent to Luque, Stinfale replied that he believed that the manager of "10" referred to him that way "out of respect" and affirmed :

"I was not the boss with the issues regarding Maradona."

With information from Télam

GL