{"id":248288,"date":"2022-12-16T08:33:31","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T14:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=248288"},"modified":"2022-12-16T10:18:56","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T16:18:56","slug":"former-casino-regulator-in-argentina-receives-vindication-over-theft-15-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/former-casino-regulator-in-argentina-receives-vindication-over-theft-15-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina: Ex-Casino Regulator Vindicated in 15-Year Old Theft Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine<\/a> province of Buenos Aires has set the record straight after 15 years. Gustavo Men\u00e9ndez, a former casino regulator and current mayor of the city of Merlo, will be given a clean record in relation to a theft from a casino when he was Provincial Director of Casinos in 2007.<\/p>\n

\"Gustavo
Gustavo Men\u00e9ndez at his desk as mayor of the Argentine city of Merlo. The former casino regulator and government official has been cleared of wrongdoing in a 15-year-old case. (Image: Perfil)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ruling reverses the two-and-a-half year prison sentence and perpetual disqualification from holding public office that Men\u00e9ndez received. It also cleared Enrique De Luca, the then-administrator of the Casino Central and Casino Del Mar.<\/p>\n

The two were targeted and sent to trial over the disappearance of ARS600,000 (US$3,480) from Casino Central in Mar del Plata<\/a>. They always asserted their innocence, alleging the accusation was a political conspiracy.<\/p>\n

Long-Lost Vindication<\/h2>\n

That trial took place in December 2018. After the verdict, Men\u00e9ndez, who was president of the Justicialist Party at the time, accused former Buenos Aires Governor Mar\u00eda Eugenia Vidal of using her power to direct the trial.<\/p>\n

In May of last year, the Criminal Chamber of the city of Bah\u00eda Blanca ratified the sentence of the court of Mar del Plata. Even before that confirmation, Men\u00e9ndez and his defense attorneys presented an appeal for annulment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Supreme Court, in a 31-page brief, granted Men\u00e9ndez\u2019s request to annul the verdict and strike the entry from his record. It determined that there was no evidence to support the original court decision or the claims against Men\u00e9ndez.<\/p>\n

While most of the court justices agreed to the annulment, at least one rejected it. Still, having the majority in favor of the appeal was enough to vindicate Men\u00e9ndez.<\/p>\n

\n

Much has changed in the 10 years it took for the case to go to trial. Vidal faced accusations of manipulating the judicial process.<\/p>\n

The case began before Vidal, when Felipe Sol\u00e1 was still governor. Following him was Daniel Scioli, then Vidal. All tried to sway the trial based on their own interests, absent investigatory evidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

During that time, Men\u00e9ndez, who at one time aspired to become Argentina\u2019s president, passed through the Institute of Lottery and Casinos of the province of Buenos Aires (IPLyC<\/a>, for its Spanish acronym). He continued with his career in politics and became mayor of Merlo in 2015, followed by reelection in 2019.<\/p>\n

Money Goes Missing<\/h2>\n

On Nov. 8, 2007, an audit took place at Casino Central and Casino del Mar, which were under the auspices of Men\u00e9ndez and De Luca at the time.<\/p>\n

\n

As the story unfolded at the time, the money was taken out of the company\u2019s treasury in cash and placed in a backpack. It was transferred to Casino Central so that it could allegedly be checked by the IPLyC\u2019s audit staff. However, that was just a ruse to get the money out of the account.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Faced with the evident lack of money that would inevitably be verified by the staff of the IPLyC, whoever was behind the maneuver needed to find a solution. So, money was taken from the Casino del Mar and put back into the account.<\/p>\n

Because the funds allegedly passed through the IPLyC, the movement was classified as an illegal seizure of public funds. This led to the charges against Men\u00e9ndez and De Luca.<\/p>\n

There was no physical evidence linking the two to the crimes, only hearsay. Witness statements at the time said that Men\u00e9ndez, on multiple occasions, ordered the treasury to provide him with money. It was for expenses that he would later justify through receipts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those receipts never appeared. The same is true of any paper trail that could have verified the role he played. Because some of the witnesses were former employees and a lack of tangible evidence, the Supreme Court had to wipe the slate clean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine province of Buenos Aires has set the record straight after 15 years. Gustavo Men\u00e9ndez, a former casino regulator and current mayor of the city of Merlo, will be given a clean record in relation to a theft from a casino when he was Provincial Director of Casinos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":248287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81884,60],"tags":[82174,81904,81928],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArgentina: Ex-Casino Regulator Vindicated in 15-Year Old Theft Charge - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine province of Buenos Aires has set the record straight after 15 years. 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