Calderón wins reply case
against La Nación newspaper


A lot of people send material to newspapers, and some of it never gets published. Would-be authors complain all the time.

But former president Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier didn't just sit around and complain. He went to court.

The Sala IV constitutional court has ruled that the Spanish-language daily newspaper La Nación has three days to publish a reply by Calderón that he sent to the newspaper Dec. 17.

Calderón is a defendant in the so-called Caja-Fischel case that centers around a $39 million loan from Finland that was to be used to purchase medical equipment from firms in that country.

The loan generated an undisclosed $9 million commission for politically connected officials and the head of a leading pharmaceutical company, Corporación Fischel.

The Poder Judicial reported the Sala IV decision Thursday. It is believed to be based on the country's right-of-reply law that tells newspapers that they must publish responses from those mentioned in news stories if the individual so requests.

Calderón said he sent in a reply to a La Nación story Dec. 17 but that it never appeared. Calderón said his reply, titled “La Nación no es la Prensa,” was in response to an article titled "Actos Correctos.”

When the court actually voted was not reported, but Calderón did not file his brief until Jan. 8, the Poder Judicial said.

There was no mention of the order among the major headlines in La Nación Friday. The only avenue for appeal is to the Hemispheric Court of Human Rights, although the case does not seem to rise to the level of an international dispute.

A right-of-reply is found often in Latin American law. It allows a person who feels the newspaper has been critical unfairly an avenue for response. In the United States such parties could just buy an ad.

Divorces take a dive


Divorces were down 5 percent in 2008, the Oficina de Inscripciones del Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones said Thursday.

In 2008 there were 10,351 divorces. That's 575 fewer than in 2007, the office said.

The office reported Wednesday that 2008 saw 25,302 marriages recorded. That's 1,116 more than in 2007.
   

Some questions raised
about Villalobos case

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

You wrote:

"Luis Enrique has never returned, and he appears to be betting on the expiration of the statue of limitations from his finca in southern Nicaragua. Prosecutors never moved against his wife and others who were major players in the scam.

"Milanes, who owes his creditors about $200 million, did return. He was treated well, and a judge let him free to go live in the penthouse of the Hotel Europa while he keeps an eye on his casino empire. He was supposed to give money to the state as a bond of sorts, but it appears that the Ministerio Público, the prosecutor's office, has not been keeping track.

"Many wonder what kind of deal has been struck between prosecutors and Milanes."

Many victims of the Villalobos scam, including myself, have also wondered if a "deal" was struck in the Villalobos case to limit the investigation to brother Ozzie's participation in the ponzi racket.

A true cynic might also wonder:

(a.) Why the cuffs weren't slapped on Enrique and his crew at the time of the July 2002 raid instead of allowing the ponzi operation to continue to rip off investors for several more months.

(b.) Why little or no apparent effort was made by Costa Rican authorities to track down Enrique (and Villalobos assets) after he fled.

(c.) Why senior personnel such as David Mathiesson and Preston Power were allowed to walk away from the scene without being charged or held as material witnesses.

(d.) Why those who were responsible for signing up Villalobos victims were never investigated or charged as accessories to the crime.

(e.) Why no effort was made to recover funds from the early-bird investors who received millions of bogus "interest payments" that had been stolen from the accounts of later investors.

(f.) Why there has been no follow up to investigate the possibility of negligence and/or corruption regarding the failure of government agencies such as the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras to police and enforce financial regulations.

(g.) And here's my favorite beef: Why the Mercado de Valores (the Costa Rican stock exchange) escaped  investigation, prosecution, or liability despite its role in cashing investors' checks that had been made payable to Mercado de Valores on the instructions of the Villalobos brothers.