Dominican judicial crisis: Judge sold rulings ´obeying orders´

Santo Domingo.- SupremeCourt chief justice a Mariano German on Monday revealed that suspended NationalDistrict 4th Penal Chamber judge Awilda Reyes Beltre admitted takingmoney in exchange for favorable rulings in several cases.

In a press conferencethe also Judicial Council president said the Judicial branch and the AttorneyGeneral’s Office are handling the alleged evidence for “appropriate action.”

"In short, thejudge has said her rulings were due to her "obedience to superiorinstructions, while acknowledging having received money for such purposes."

He warned however thathe has nothing to do with Reyes´ rulings, or any other judiciary official.

"It´s an infamy ofthe worst kind to imply that I, or any member of my family has something to dowith the criminal attitude of some minority members of the judiciary," Germansaid.

He said her recent rulingto return the Cessna 550 aircraft, registry N61MA, seized from bankrupt Peraviabank president Jose Luis Santoro figure among her questioned decisions.

German said Reyes wasalso questioned over her ruling to return US$20 million to Prado UniversalCorp., builder of Torre Atiemar, whose president is Spanish drug trafficking convictArturo del Tiempo, among other cases.

"There has notbeen a single complaint that the Judicial Council hasn’t investigated."