And charges have also been brought in another case of missing public funds.. Julio Santos, his name has been in the news for about as long as Monica Escarpeta and he too was charged today. 38 year old Santos has been hit with six counts of theft for 13 thousand dollars in missing deposits from the Benque Viejo border. This is the photo taken of him at the Benque Viejo police station which is where he remains detained tonight because the Benque Viejo Magistrate is attending a training seminar in Belize City.
So, according to the Cayo Star newspaper Santos was remanded into custody by a Justice of the Peace since it is an indictable matter. So with the Magistrate out until Monday, he will therefore spend this weekend in BVO Police Lock-up – which as we’ve noted before is a place he’s familiar with as in 2001 – he was accused of embezzling over half a million dollars from the Mount Carmel Credit Union.
In this case, the figure is much smaller as Santos as the politically connected manager of the Western Border Management office is accused of “disappearing” 6 deposits totaling over thirteen thousand dollars. Police say that he signed for only one of those deposits, but after consulting with the DPP, police were instructed only to charge him at this time.
It’s interesting to note that police have confirmed that Santos and the Border Management Office have signed an agreement in which he agrees to repay the missing money over a 12 month period. But apparently that wasn’t enough to satisfy the DPP that theft did not occur, and she instructed that nevertheless charges must be brought.
