El Presidente Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 If these are the types of sentences they are handing out, then those involved in the the HSA Fraud of late last year are in some trouble ________________________________________________________________________________ _______ Prosecutor seeking long prison sentences in corruption case http://www.cubastandard.com/2011/03/24/prosecutor-seeking-long-prison-sentences-in-corruption-case/#respond Prosecutors are seeking long-term prison sentences for an ex-minister and a Chilean businessman, after a provincial court in Havana found them guilty in a corruption case apparently designed to show the limits of translating power and influence into business in Raulista Cuba. A long-term sentence for Alejandro Roca Iglesias, 75, who was minister of food industries from 1976 to March 2009, would send a strong signal to Cuban officials with material ambitions. Max Marambio was absent, fighting the court proceedings from Chile; he was represented by a court-appointed defender. If prosecutors have their way, Roca will get 15 years of prison, while Max Marambio, 63, former part-owner of the Alimentos Río Zaza joint venture, would get 20 years, offical daily Granma reported. The court ruled that Roca was guilty of bribery and "acts harming economic activity or commerce," and Marambio of bribery and falsification of business documents, according to the Communist Party newspaper. Initially, Marambio was also accused of fraud and embezzlement. Sentencing is expected "in the coming days." Roca Iglesias The brief Granma news item didn't provide any details about the case. According to rumors, Roca made considerable bank deposits abroad from illicit commissions. A son of Roca's works for Marambio in Chile. The government shut down Río Zaza, which produced and sold processed food products in Cuba to the tune of $100 million a year, early last year and took back Marambio's house in Havana. As of October, two Río Zaza executives were imprisoned in relation to the investigation, according to Marambio, but the government hasn't released any information regarding other pending cases. A Havana court indicted Marambio in May 2010, after a one-year investigation. The governments' efforts to get Marambio to appear before a court have been published by official media, but this is the first time official media mentioned Roca's case. The Chilean businessman, a political insider in Cuba during the 1970s and 80s, has not returned to the island since fall 2009. He filed legal proceedings against Cuba before the court of arbitration of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in October 2010. "The central objective of this legal action is the unrestricted defense of my honor, that of my collaborators, and of all people who have cooperated with, and trusted in, the entrepreneurial project Río Zaza," Max Marambio wrote in a press release about his ICC case in October. He explained the ICC was the forum for disputes indicated by the Cuban government to foreign investors, adding that the ICC offers the necessary neutrality to "fight a conflict built on unfounded and libelous accusations." Marambio claims that part of the accusations stem from his paying generous benefits to Cuban employees. Shortly after he filed the ICC case, the government asked Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant for Max Marambio. It also published a summons for Marcel Luis Marambio, Max's younger brother and a vice president of the holding company that controlled Río Zaza. "I will go through this process with serenity, prudence and firmness," Marambio said in the October press release. "I will do this maintaining the same feelings of admiration and respect towards what has been the Cuban Revolution, with the certainty that the truth is always revolutionary and always ends up winning, if it is defended with solidity and conviction." Marambio is one of the few foreigners who made it into Cuba's inner circles of power under Fidel Castro. Since the 1990s Marambio, a former student leader in Chile, body guard of President Salvador Allende, member of Cuba's special forces, and founding chief executive of the Cimex holding — today Cuba's largest business conglomerate — used his close relationship with the Cuban government to build a thriving business. Roca lost his long-term post in March 2009, the same time as Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque and Vice President Carlos Lage, both of whom had been close to Fidel Castro.
El Presidente Posted March 25, 2011 Author Posted March 25, 2011 I know how much it pains you to post this......
cigcars Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 *So unfortunate for these poor souls. That's the prime difference in our societies here by contrast. Communists will punish you longer and harder for theft related crimes than for wanton murder. In one of my social studies classes back in the late '70's (yeah, again right, OLD broad!) we were taught that in Soviet Russia if you kill somebody they'd put you in the nut house..."Wow, you must be CRAZY - you killed somebody!" But if you steal they will shoot you (literally) because their philosophy is that "You're stealing from the People," and so on. I hope they get a reprieve if possible. I truly don't like the thought of anybody being locked up for long periods...unless you're a murdering, life-taking bastard.
jay8354 Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 *So unfortunate for these poor souls. That's the prime difference in our societies here by contrast. Communists will punish you longer and harder for theft related crimes than for wanton murder. In one of my social studies classes back in the late '70's (yeah, again right, OLD broad!) we were taught that in Soviet Russia if you kill somebody they'd put you in the nut house..."Wow, you must be CRAZY - you killed somebody!" But if you steal they will shoot you (literally) because their philosophy is that "You're stealing from the People," and so on. I hope they get a reprieve if possible. I truly don't like the thought of anybody being locked up for long periods...unless you're a murdering, life-taking bastard. Corruption happens and people in power accepts that. What they don't accept is the fact you are not sharing the wealth with the higher ups. China has a better policy if you don't grease the right people, they file charges and then once you are close enough - kidnap you to bring you to trail in PRC..
thechenman Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 Corruption happens and people in power accepts that. What they don't accept is the fact you are not sharing the wealth with the higher ups. China has a better policy if you don't grease the right people, they file charges and then once you are close enough - kidnap you to bring you to trail in PRC.. Very true...at least it used to be. My grandfather's younger brother lived it.
PigFish Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 Wait a second.... They are prosecuting people of corruption and theft in communist Cuba! Let me know when Fidel's trial starts. Until then I will be happy calling the accused scapegoats! What a load of horse crap! I guess when your country is built off of the theft of human rights and private property... you don't give any breaks to competitors! -Piggy
armedak Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 Wow.... At his age that is literally a life sentence. I would stay in Chile and go on the lam if I were him.
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