Dominican kingpin leaves US Witness Protection Program: El Nuevo Diario

New York.- Former Dominican Army Capt Quirino Paulino left the US Federal Witness Protection Program in 2014 and went to the Dominican Consulate on November 28 to get a passport, which he had reported as lost, a limited power-of-attorney to verify affidavits, a birth certificate and a Dominican cedula (ID), elnuevodiario.com.do reports.

After getting some documents, Paulino reportedly returned to the Consulate, where hundreds of his compatriots also visit daily to fill out official forms, fueling speculation that he had left the protection program he entered prior to his release on January 24, 2014.

The confessed drug kingpin, who has hurled accusations against former president Leonel Fernández in calls to Dominican radio programs, lives alone in a New York apartment.

Paulino has yet to respond to numerous calls by El Nuevo Diario to dispel doubts of various sectors, since he has only spoken through phone calls.

Born September 8, 1960 in Las Delicias hamlet of Comendador township, western Elías Piña province, Paulino spent nearly 10 years in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, a US federal facility.