Ason Casco, former international of the Nicaraguan national team, and who was sentenced to 33 months in prison in mid-2021 after being found guilty of a crime related to organized crime, was recently released from prison on parole, his officials reported Thursday. relatives.
32 years old and nicknamed ‘Lion King’, he was one of the 1,000 convicts who benefited from the regime change, from deprivation of liberty to house arrest, ordered by the Executive this Wednesday, according to the information.
The former central defender of clubs such as Walter Ferretti, Real Estelí and Juventus, of the First Division of Nicaragua, had been without the right to freedom for nine months in the largest prison in the country, located in the city of Tipitapa (Pacific) and known as La Modelo .
In July 2021, a Managua judge found Casco guilty of the crime of “conspiracy for organized crime”, and sentenced him to remain in prison until November 8, 2023, when he will serve 33 months in prison, including the previous five months. to the court decision.
According to the accusation of the Public Ministry, the former selected was a member of a gang of assailants called “Cainsa”, and “had the mission of surveillance in the premises that the other members of the gang were going to rob.”
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The gang was dedicated to robbing companies and commercial houses in different municipalities of Nicaragua, according to official information.
Casco was charged along with eight other men, including former soccer player Ismael Morales, who received sentences of more than two years in prison for similar crimes.
The two former athletes were the only ones who maintained their innocence throughout the trial.
A month before the ruling, Casco had received a life ban from the Nicaraguan Football Federation (Fenifut), for allegedly being involved in a “match-fixing” network, made up of 19 players and eight other people.
The former international played in the Nicaraguan First Division between 2009 and 2020. He was a key player in the Nicaraguan national team from 2014 to 2017, under the orders of Costa Rican coach Henry Duarte.