Former President of the Participation Council José Tuárez was sentenced to five years in prison

A criminal court in Guayas sentenced José Carlos Tuárez , former president of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS), to five years in prison for influence peddling.

Former President of the Participation Council José Tuárez was sentenced to five years in prison

According to the Prosecutor’s Office , Tuárez was a member of a network that allegedly offered positions and contracts in the public sector in exchange for money and precious stones. The organization, which has 32 processed, received between 10% and 20% of the amount of the contract. Thus, for example, a job in a public hospital, or in Civil Aviation, or in the Customs of Ecuador cost between 5,000 and 500,000 dollars , says the Prosecutor’s Office.

That entity published on its Twitter account that this type of conduct is classified in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP) as influence peddling and is punished with a penalty of three to five years. At the trial hearing, in the Albán Borja Judicial Unit , which began on Thursday 6 and continued on August 13, Friday 14 and Monday 17, the Public Administration Unit prosecutor, César Suárez Pilay , presented more than 20 pieces of evidence documentaries, as well as 20 testimonials.

The Prosecutor’s Office presented as main evidence audios and videos of the defendants that demonstrate their participation in the events. Also the statements of two alleged victims , one of them reported that he agreed to an appointment in the Ministry of Health and paid half a million dollars ; another said he paid $ 50,000 to work at the Council for Citizen Participation in Quito.

The entity demonstrated that José Carlos Tuárez was in charge of offering public positions in its different modalities, for institutions such as in exchange for large sums of money. The criminal court accepted the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office and issued the conviction against the priest. In addition, he imposed an economic fine , the loss of citizenship rights and issued a public apology.

On November 28, 2019, 32 people were arrested in the “Emperor” operation, led by the State Attorney General’s Office, in coordination with the Anti-kidnapping and Extortion Unit (Unase) of the National Police, in Guayas, Manabí, Pichincha, Los Rivers, Tungurahua and Sucumbíos. (I)

https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/judicial/12/ex Presidente-cpccs-jose-carlos-tuarez-carcel