Judge ‘took US$2.0M bribe’ appeals measure favors accuser

Santo Domingo.- Instruction judge Margarita Cristo on Thursday filed a challenge to the decision by Appellate Court prosecutor Jose Sepulveda not to charge National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice Reynoso with contempt of court.

Cristo’s lawyer Carlos Balcácer said the Appellate Court prosecutor analyzed the case file incorrectly by making his decision.

He said his client is asking a court to order the extension of the investigation into her complaint, citing sufficient evidence to continue.

Cristo’s complaint stems from a hearing in the embezzlement case against former Public Works minister Victor Diaz Rua, during which Reynoso accused the judge of taking a US$2.0 million bribe from a drug kingpin.