The former judge accused of bribery will continue to be detained in prison

former federal judge Walter Bento will remain imprisoned in the Cacheuta prison, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza. The criminal court that judges him for bribes and illicit enrichment He requested a request from his lawyers to grant him house arrest and await the resolution of the trial at his home in the private Palmares neighborhood.

The Federal Oral Court 2 of Mendoza decided that the former judge remains detained in the Federal Penitentiary Complex 6 of Cacheutawith police and other imprisoned officials, 40 kilometers from the city of Mendozaon the path of the high mountain range.

Bento entered the prison on November 8 when the Jury of Prosecution of the Council of the Judiciary of the Nation decided to remove him from his position as judge, for poor performance of his duties, lack of decorum in his role and for having “dishonored the Justice”.

After his dismissal, Bento lost his jurisdiction and the court that tried him in Mendoza for 15 criminal cases enforced the arrest warrants against him. The former judge is accused of granting procedural favors to smugglers and drug traffickers in exchange for money, cars and property.

he defense attorneys’ submission Mariano Fragueiro Frías and Felipe Salvarezza to obtain house arrest, was the serious disability suffered by one of the sons of the former magistrate and the inability of Bento’s wife, Marta Boiza, to take care of the 29-year-old young man alone.

The other two children, Luciano and Nahuel Bento, and the wife of the former judge and their mother, They are processed in the same mega case. They all worked in the federal courts of Mendoza when the investigation against them began.

The judges of Oral Court 2, Gretel Diamante, Eliana Rattá and Carolina Pereira, argued in rejecting the request for house arrest that the family has enough support in their environment to collaborate in the care of the child who suffers from cerebral palsy.

“It is noted that the mother has direct family support such as Facundo’s older brothers, Nahuel (31) and Luciano (29), who They are in a position to collaborate with the care and attention of their brother in the absence of his father, especially in those tasks that require greater physical effort,” says the opinion.

And the court judges pointed out that, in addition, there are risk that the former magistrate could hinder the development of the case and the trial: “With conduct that seeks to destroy, modify, hide, suppress or falsify elements of evidence; attempt to ensure the benefit of the crime or the continuity of its execution; harass or threaten victims or witnesses; influence witnesses or experts to report falsely or behave in a disloyal or reluctant manner; induce or determine others to engage in such behavior, although they will not engage in it.”

he crime of a former Customs broker and police informant in July 2020, opened an investigation in which they discovered evidence and testimonies that located Bento as leader of a gang that demanded bribes in exchange for procedural benefits to smugglers and drug traffickers.

Bento is accused of being the head of an illegal association15 acts of active bribery, malfeasance, omission and delay of justice, illicit enrichment, money laundering, ideological falsehood (2 acts), abuse of authority (10 acts), disobedience and concealment of an object intended to serve as evidence (his telephone official).

Also charged with him are his wife Marta Boiza, two of his three children (Nahuel and Luciano) and 30 other people, including some lawyers, police officers and smugglers.

The ruling of the Council of the Judiciary that expelled him from Justice, clarified that, in the case of the son with disabilities, and when his father lost his position, the young man continues to receive membership in the social work of judicial employees as an exception. . to continue with his medical treatments.