RD$100.0M embezzlement scandal tests judges, Medina

San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic.- Duarte province Appellate Court judge Claudio A. Medrano early Monday released mayor Feliz M. Rodriguez, Financial manager Fior Daliza Genao, and payroll manager Lizardo Pérez on bond, after arraignment on charges they embezzled more than RD$100.0 million.

The Court ruled for a motion by the defense, for which Rodriguez posted a five million peso bond, Genao 200,000 and Pérez posted 500,000. All three must report to the authorities once a month prior to the trial, and cannot travel out of the country.

The case is yet another test for the country’s questioned judicial system, and to president Danilo Medina’s stance on corruption, that “we shouldn’t hurl bricks at the past.”