Faced with the scandal over QR charges, the Mayor’s Office says it gave 90 items to opponents

This time the Prosecutor’s Office reacted quickly. The complaint was admitted on Tuesday and yesterday there were searches by the Prosecutor’s Office in the Fifth Municipal and in the Botanical Garden in search of evidence on the charges that the architect Andrea Forfori when he held the direction of the Parks and Gardens of the municipality.

The spokesman for the Legal Department of the mayor entity, Bernardo Montenegro, said that the entity adhered to that complaint, but, at the same time, affirmed that there was an agreement so that the opposition Autonomous Community (CA) access 90 jobs.

“They were given that as a result of an agreement, sought by Gary Áñez and Juan Carlos Medrano, at the time.” Councilor Medrano is one of the authorities who filed the lawsuit, while Áñez was a candidate for mayor.

He added that those affected went to the Transparency Directorate to investigate this allocation of items, in addition to alleged irregular charges, this time by opponents. “A process has already begun and it will be justice that determines what has happened and what irregularities have been committed.”

According to Montenegro, they charge “more than Bs 40,000 a month as a result of the extortion of officials that they themselves (those from CA) have designated”.

The mayor official reported, however, that the people who came to occupy those 90 jobs were evaluated for their performance and then released. He even mentioned that the previous director of the green area was part of that supposed quota.

But Medrano denied the accusations that, in his opinion, are originated “in the desperation of the Municipal Executive” where there is serious evidence of “sale of items.” He recalled that less than a week ago, the CA bench denounced that there are 57 people who denounced having paid to gain access to an item in the Mayor’s Office.

“Now, it turns out that the corrupt are not them, but the ones who monitor. They’re just trying to divert people’s attention. And we tell Mr. Montenegro that we know about his past, and that instead of inventing things, he gets to work, ”said Medrano.

Of course, according to the councilor, he affirmed that there is an alliance between the MAS and the Mayor Johnny Fernandezwho so far has not expressed a position on these new complaints.

“The Mayor is very upset with the situation that has happened and the only thing he has done is give the instruction that an investigation must be carried out and the material truth of all the facts must be reached,” Montenegro responded through EL radio. HAVE TO. The official insisted that the investigation must include the complaint against CA.

In any case, Forfori is accused of embezzlement and embezzlement of public funds, crimes that she could have committed for demanding that officials of the Botanical Garden deposit money, via QR code to a private account, the amount of the salary from the September payroll, one month in which those affected did not work because their contracts began to run in October.

Accompanied by investigative agents from the Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc), prosecutor Marcela Terceros went to the City Hall’s administrative building, according to what she said to “look for background information and evidence.”

According to the complaint, Forfori, in addition to Enrique Aldo Mariaca, head of Human Resources at the Botanical, intimidated their employees into handing over the money. He calculates that they were going to collect between Bs 6,000 and 7,000 per person, but the number of people affected in this case still remains to be known. The evidence, in addition to the testimonies of those affected, includes screenshots of WhatsApp conversations and audios attributed to the former director.

Montenegro reported yesterday that Mariaca has not yet been released and clarified that the Botanical Garden is a “deconcentrated and decentralized” municipal agency with its own administrative structure and its own Human Resources office. On this basis, he pointed out that they are “subject to the investigation of the Prosecutor’s Office”, before being able to carry out an internal audit.

The Public Ministry has not yet set a date for Forfori to issue his discharge statement.