The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice annulled a sentence of the Court of Appeals of Caracas that in turn validated the full freedom for the entrepreneur of the oil industry Pietro Micale Caccamo, according to sentence No. 87 drafted by magistrate Elsa Gómez.
This decision by the Criminal Chamber responds to an appeal by the Public Ministry that seeks to annul the trial that acquitted Micale.
The criminal process against Micale began on December 18, 2018 when he was arrested and charged for the alleged commission of the crimes of evasion of bidding processes, illegal procurement of the Public Administration, concert of a public official with a contractor association.
The investigation by the Public Ministry is based on a counterintelligence report that links Micale, owner of the Prot.Petrol company, with an alleged overprice in the sale of products to the state-owned Petrocedeño and Petromonagas.
Micale’s trial took place between March 16 and July 28, 2021 when he was found not guilty and consequently acquitted by the 2nd Special Anti-Terrorist Court that decreed his full release.
The Prosecutor’s Office appealed that decision and room 2 of the Caracas Court of Appeals ratified the acquittal in favor of Micale. But the Criminal Chamber of the TSJ determined that this Court did not respond with “sufficient clarity and precision” to the complaints from the Public Ministry. For this reason, the magistrates ordered another appeals chamber to analyze the matter.
Michael’s video
Yesterday, Micale released a video on his networks where he denounces that all the criminal prosecution against him is due to “a personal revenge of the Attorney General of the Republic (Tarek William Saab) towards me.”
In a section of the recording, Micale exhibited a photo where Attorney General Tarek William Saab is seen next to a woman. “I was detained by this person who is here,” Micale says, pointing to the woman. “Not because of her, but because of the hatred that this person felt towards me,” he says, pointing his finger at Saab.
