The Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court ratified the sentence of 22 years and 5 months in prison against the former congressman Michael Urtecho for the crimes of concussion and illicit enrichment. This is due to having systematically cut the salaries of the workers in his congressional office for a total amount of 430,656 soles. The same fate befell his wife. Claudia Gonzalezwho was sentenced to 28 years for concussion, illicit appropriation, embezzlement and money laundering.
At the beginning of the hearing, the supreme judge Ivan Sequeiros recalled that, although the Soto Law in the first instance ruling to declare three of the seven salary cuts time-barred, this was before the Supreme Court will determine through a plenary agreement that said norm is unconstitutional.
“The benefit for the accused (if the Soto Law is applied) in this specific case has an excessive cost for justice,” said the supreme magistrate.
In this way, the Soto Law and it was determined that the criminal action was still in force, so the supreme court found Urtecho guilty of the seven salary cuts for which the Prosecutor’s Office initially accused him. However, although this would have led to an increase in the final sentence, the Criminal Chamber indicated that the Prosecutor’s Office He did not specify or substantiate the specific penalty that should be imposed.
In addition to this, the magistrates considered the “best interests of the child” –Urtecho and his wife are parents of a minor – and that the former congressman suffers from a condition that affects his health. That is why the penalties were not increased and, on the contrary, those imposed in the first instance were confirmed.
The Permanent Criminal Chamber confirmed the other points of the first instance ruling and ordered the internment of Michael Urtecho and his wife in a public prison. When the first instance ruling was handed down in August 2023, the Special Supreme Criminal Chamber suspended the execution of the sentence until it is confirmed, which happened today.
The criticism of the Supreme
During the reading of the sentence, the supreme judge Ivan Sequeiros He regretted that it has allegedly become institutionalized for congressmen of the Republic to cut the salaries of their workers as a condition for the latter to be hired. This is in reference to the dozen cases of ‘mochasaldos’ in the current Legislature.
“Apparently such behavior has been institutionalized by some bad representatives before Congress, who, instead of making an effort to do work for the benefit of the voters, only seek personal benefit in a totally deplorable manner by demanding part of the remuneration of the voters.” workers in exchange for giving them a job. Which constitutes not only a criminal act, but also detestable behavior, all the more so if it comes from someone who, in his capacity as a senior official, must set an example of behavior within the law and morally questionable. “, said the magistrate.
