Mexico Trucker Online

NUEVO LAREDO - The former director of the Nuevo Laredo department that oversees the Mexican side of the World Trade Bridge has been charged with misappropriating more than $1 million in city funds. Gabriel Marín Loya, 39, was appointed head of the Fideicomiso del Puente III by then-Mayor Daniel Peña Treviño and served nearly three years, until fall 2007, near the end of Peña Treviño’s term.

He was arrested Wednesday and taken to prison. On Thursday, he was taken before Judge Pedro Francisco Pérez Vázquez of the First State Criminal Court to hear the charges against him: bribery, abuse of official power and embezzling more than 13 million pesos ($1.2 million).

Marín Loya’s attorney declared his client innocent; Marín Loya declined to testify before the judge, invoking Mexico’s constitutional right against self-incrimination. It is similar to pleading the Fifth Amendment in the United States.

“I abstain from making a statement as well as from being interrogated by the state prosecutor,” he said. “I am protected under Article 20 of the Constitution.”

Marín Loya arrived at the courthouse in handcuffs, surrounded by 10 law enforcement officers. The hearing started at 11:55 a.m. and ended at 1:47 p.m.

The secretary of the court advised Marín Loya that he and 12 others are accused of taking more than 13 million pesos from the coffers of the Fideicomiso del Puente III (the World Trade Bridge). The names of the other suspects were not immediately available.

According to court documents, the money was taken at different times by means of checks signed by Peña Treviño and Marín Loya. The former mayor has not been charged in the case.

Morelos Jaime Canseco, representing the Fideicomiso under the new administration as well as the government of Tamaulipas, gave evidence to the state attorney general’s office, claming that some of the money spent during Marín Loya’s tenure was not used as described.

State prosecutors then interviewed several representatives of companies, officials and other citizens cited in city records as having done business with the Fideicomiso del Puente III. According to the court documents, the witnesses testified that, contrary to what the city records seemed to show, they had not done any business with the department or Marín Loya.

The evidence includes a series of checks drawn on the department’s account; prosecutors allege signatures were forged to cash the checks.

The business owners and representatives said receipts in the city record may look like the real thing, but the business owners presented original receipts to show they had not been issued to anyone.

Each of the businesses, which had allegedly received 1 million, 2 million and up to 4 million pesos for service rendered, testified that they had not performed those services and had not received any money from the city. Among those testifying was a legal representative of a company that had allegedly conducted an environmental study at the bridge. The representative testified, however, that his company had done no such thing and had never received any city funds.

During the presentation of the evidence, Marín Loya remained in control, somber but calm, occasionally glancing at his attorney, Alberto Robles Cortes.

At one point, Robles Cortes tried in vain to object when his client was asked for the names of his wife, children and parents. The secretary of the court told the attorney he was not allowed to interfere with the questioning, which was a personal interview and vital to the process.

The secretary, who read the entire 40-page document explaining the charges, stopped several times to take sips of water before continuing to read.

The atmosphere in the small courtroom was suffocating, as numerous reporters and others crowded around to hear Marín Loya give his account of the charges against him.

Robles Cortes told the court that his client is innocent, and asked for an extension of time to provide evidence on Marín Loya’s behalf. He also asked that bond be set for his client, but prosecutor José Raúl Rodríguez Órnelas argued against that request, saying bribery is a serious charge and the law does not allow a defendant to go free on bond in such cases.

Each of the three charges against Marín Loya carries a penalty of six to 14 years in prison.

State’s attorney Jaime Canseco said the state is seeking restitution of the allegedly embezzled money.

At the end of the proceeding, Judge Pérez Vázquez denied bond and said he would issue a ruling in the case next week. In the meantime, he ordered Marín Loya to be taken back to prison.

Under Mexican law, a person who is charges is presumed to be guilty unless proven innocent, the direct opposite of U.S. law. Proceedings are rarely held in open court; usually, the judge makes his decision based on written briefs filed by the defense and the prosecution. The entire process can take years.