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NEWS DIGEST
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*Former Alcatel Costa Rica President Gives Declaration

The ICE-Alcatel saga continued yesterday with the testimony by former Alcatel Costa Rica president, Edgar Valverde, before the fiscales - the prosecutors.

Valverde, in his declarations made reference to an Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) engineer - Eduardo Fonseca - who received payments from the French telecommunications firm, related to it being awarded the multimillion dollar contract for GSM cellular service in Costa Rica.

"I don't recall with exactness the sums and the number of payments made to Mr. Fonseca that were made by way of Servicios Notariales Q.C...." Valverde said.

Fonseca is an engineer with 17 years of service at ICE and reached the the position of head of the Dirección de la Unidad Estratégica de Negocios de Desarrollo y Ejecución de Proyectos following promotions during his years at the institution.

It is alleged that Alcatel made payments to Servicios Notariales Q.C. for a total of us$13 million dollars, that was used to payoff a number of ICE employees and board members, José Antonio Lobo, Joaquín Alberto Fernández, and ICE engineer, Rodrigo Méndez, among others.

Lobo was the first to "sing" - telling prosecutors his role in receiving some us$2.4 million dollars related to the Alcatel contract and who former president Miguel Angel Rodríguez advised him to take the money that was being offered and that the two should split it 60/40 in Rodríguez's favour.

Rodríguez, who was president between 1998-2002, was detained on October 15, 2004 when he returned to Costa Rica after stepping down as Secretary General of the Organization of American States and is sitting out preventive detention in La Reforma prison while the Fiscalía investigates. Lobo, however, is waiting it out in the luxury of his private home under "house arrest".

The comments by Valverde were made to television Channel 7 news - Telenoticias - as the Fiscalía, unlike in the past, is being tight lipped about the investigation and testimonies being made before them. Fiscal General, Franciso Dall'Anese, has being accused of creating a "circus" atmosphere surrounding the ICE-Alcatel case and his office leaking information to the press.


*President Pacheco Promises Tough Action Against Alajuela Hospital Builder

The hospital that took some 25 years to build - the new hospital in Alajuela that was recently opened - is under fire with the detection of more than 300 major flaws, from construction to non-working or faulty equipment.

President Abel Pacheco, only three days following his release from the Calderón Guardia hospital for heart problems, promised his government will use the full force of the law to investigate the complaints.

The hospital run by the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS) came into operation in October of 2004 following years of planning.

The Spanish consortium OHL, who designed and built the hospital, is under pressure to make the repairs and replace faulty equipment. Doctor Jorge Arias Sobrado, was appointed to head a newly created unit - Unidad Ejecutora - to ensure that the hospital is made to function properly.

Meanwhile, patients and employees at the hospital are complaining about faulty doors, elevators, air conditioners that don't cool, computers and medical equipment that only works at time or doesn't work at all.

The hospital cost was more than ¢17 billion colones (us$36.5 million dollars).


*Man Arrested for Suspected Sexual Abuse of Two Minors

A 64 year old man will be spending the next three months in preventive detention following his arrest last Friday for the suspected sexual abuse of two minors aged 7 and 14.

The man identified only by his last name, Rodríguez, was arrested by agents of the Unidad de Explotación Sexual del Ministerio de Seguridad Pública - Sexual Crimes Unit - near the Juan Santamaria (San José) airport in Alajuela while he had the two minors in his car at the time.

According to the police report, agents arrived just in time to detain man before he could sexually abuse the two girls. The young girls, who lived in the poorest area of Pavas, west of San José, had not made a complaint against the man for fear of reprisals against their brother. Agents were tipped off by an anonymous caller.

Ana Helena Chacón, Vice-Minister of the Seguridad Pública, is making a call to Costa Ricans to come forward and denounce any sexual abuse suffered or perpetuated by a family member, friend or neighbour.

The latest case of sexual abuse of minors was discovered less than two weeks ago when a man identified only by his last name Rojas, was arrested for sexually abusing his two step daughters who were 8 and 15 years of age.


*"Gringos Want Fresh Meat" Madam Trial Judges Hear Testimony

"The Gringos are tired of Nela, they already know her, they want fresh meat", were words that heard by a judge from a telephone wire tap of a presumed conversation between Madam Sinaí Monge and her brother Miguel.

Sinaí is on trial for providing underage prostitutes to her clients when an undercover Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) agent infiltrated the closed family business and was able to place an order for a minor, who, according to the police report, was ready, willing and able. The young girl would then "kick back" a part of her earnings upstairs to the Madam.

Sinaí's brother Miguel has already being sentenced for his role in the business, when he pleased guilty and made a deal with prosecutors.

Miguel's job in the family business was to make contact with "gringos" who would pay well. The girls were transported in bus labeled "Transportes de estudiantes" - school bus - that held up to 15 girls who were driven to and paraded for the customers. "Look, choose and pay".

Testimony being given in the trial are revealing the way the Madam worked. And that she did well. Among her customers were notable businessmen, members of the OIJ and the Poder Judicial and politicians, however, prosecutors have not made public any names contained in the Madam's black book.

The court is learning how customers could call on the Madam and have their desires fulfilled. The bus was just one "marketing" method where frequent customers could see the new girls, looking for fresh faces.

Investigators had been after the Madam for a long time. However, due to low resources available and the connection that the Madam had, they efforts were continually being frustrated.

Their big break came when the OIJ Cerdas was able to take one of the two girls that was sent to him to a motel where she was paid with a marked us$100 note. The girl was underage and investigators had to play out the game to ensure that the girl was providing sexual services on the orders of the Madam.

Police, in their court testimony, told how their low budget made their efforts almost impossible. The group knew the vehicles used by police investigators, who had to start using their personal vehicles to avoid detection and how the agent could only take one of the girls to the motel, instead of the two that would have made their case stronger, since they only had one note available.

The judges were told the details of the operation that brought down the Madam, the OIJ agent telling the court that they he waited until the girl was completely naked, had the money in her hands, that he excused himself to make sue the motel door was closed, when in fact he opened it for his companions to enter the room. The entire process was captured on video and the will shown in court - in private - as the trial continues.



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