Judge Fuentes to pay fine

Judge Felipe Fuentes will not go to prison; will pay a fine of $ 2,500

The Court of Judgment of Panama read on Monday December 10th the sentence against the separated seventh criminal judge Felipe Fuentes , who last month was found guilty for the commission of the crime of theft of public documents.

The anti-corruption prosecutor Ruth Morcillo requested a sentence of 38 months (three years and two months in prison). However, the members of the court replaced the penalty to a 500 day fine at the rate of $5 a day, payable in six months to the National Treasury. The fine totals $2,500.

As an accessory penalty, Fuentes was also disqualified to any perform public functions for a period of 20 months. 

A lawsuit was opened against Fuentes last January for allegedly taking  booklets from the High Spirit account file of the defunct Financial Pacific (FP) stock house.

Fuentes was temporarily removed from his post last February, after admitting that he  "wrongly" took the booklets for his house, and while returning to his office, they fell off the motorcycle he was driving.

The booklets were found by a citizen on the Arraiján-Panama road, at the height of Loma Cová, who delivered them to the Public Prosecutor’s Office thus  opening criminal proceedings.