Santo Domingo.- The heads of the National Assets Agency (BN) had sold scrap metal from the State-owned plantations at Cruz de Manzanillo (northwest) for less than RD$15 million, to a company acquired in the law firm Legales Express just two days before the call for tenders.
The journalist Nuria Piera reported on Saturday that the company obtained 4,000 tons of scrap metal, of a total of 90,000, estimated to be worth more than RD$300 million, and despite that the Government Purchases Law 340-06 stipulates a 22 day notice before the closing, the deadline for the tender offers was just three days.
The company that won the bid had been created just two days before the call for tenders and the norms also stipulate that the participants must be companies certified as exporter of scrap metals, but a statement from the Export and Investment Center (CEI-RD) presented by Piera in her program on ColorVision, states that company isn’t certified.
The investigation found that in the Chamber of Commerce the shareholders who figure in the Corporacion Royal SRL, are Ramy Hout, the lawyer who made the sale of the company and its messenger, but none of them figure as shareholders or representatives in the transaction worth millions.
The Cruz de Manzanillo project has more than 90,000 tons of metal whose value is estimated at more than RD$300 million, according to a study by another company interested in the deal.
It said that on February 9 National Assets requested the scrap metals to Cruz de Manzanillo Project administrator Inocencio Peña, and obtained the Presidency’s approval through the Office of the Legal Adviser.
It adds that National Assets director Elías Wessin Chávez receives an inventory of the Project’s scrap materials on July 19, and by July 21 had already called for tender offers through a publication in the newspaper El Nuevo Diario, despite that the Law stipulates that it must be in at least two newspapers, those with the highest circulation.
The audit was concluded
Bartolo Bather Báez, the accountant who supervised the audit in which serious irregularities were detected in the management of National Assets, confirmed that he formally submitted it to the Accounts Chamber in 2009, although Chamber president Licelotte Marte said that the investigation is still ongoing.
Interviewed by Piera via telephone on Saturday, Bather said he gave the audit to Accounts Chamber Audit director Diloné Ventura, and corrected by Noel Luperón.
When the journalist tells Bather that Marte had said that the audit is in process, the official responded: “well, I don’t know the reason she has for that but I am clear that the audit was finished and we turned it in and that after we did, nothing, nothing more was said. The Chamber must have a reason to say that it isn’t finished”.
Báez was subsequently fired from the Accounts Chamber.
From: United States
Ola Leonel you corrupt bastard. Why aren't you doing something????
From: United States
Somewhere in this transaction is a family relative closely associated to the PLD or Leonel.
From: Dominican Republic, Puerto Plata
It's getting so boring.
Why can we not read non-PLD sponsorized GOOD NEWS for once?
From: United States
as i said before, there is a severe lack of Moral Capital in this country. in New York, the Orthodox Jewish community control the trade in wholesale diamonds. one guy will give another a bagful of precious stones to peruse at his leisure. he does not have to insure them, or worry that the other guy is going to scam him, by switching some of the stones. there is no need for insurance. because, something in their culture animates the need to act honorably. it is an abiding sense of right and wrong. there are crooks in every society, even in the one i mentioned, because it is a society of men, who are, of course, just human. however, the DR is the kind of society in which you enter into a transaction with another person with the expectation of getting screwed. people will beat you out of 10 pesos. trifling. a storekeeper will sell you something he knows to be worthless, in order to make 5 pesos. he would rather do that, than do right by you, and have a customer for life.
Written by: juanb, 20 Sep 2010 11:20 AM
From: Dominican Republic
Sometimes I read stories like this and then I just want to vomit.
The really sad part is that we all know that somewhere along the line the story will be dropped and ultimately nothing will ever be done.
Where are those 3 sons of PLD officials accused of ripping off the aduanas vacationing now?
From: United States
there are many considerations which deter people from acting in a criminal fashion. two of the most obvious are criminal sanctions, and reactions from peer groups. in the DR, neither of these matters functions with any degree of efficacy. the people in the upper echelons have no need to ponder the sanctions of the legal system, because, if you have wealth and contacts, you have immunity. the second issue is the one which considers the fact that some people´s behaviors are informed by what they think other people´s opinions of them will be. some guys do not steal, because they believe that if they are caught, it will occasion shame and disgrace upon themselves and their loved ones. this dynamic does not function to any worthwhile degree in a society in which dishonorable behavior is normative.
From: United States
bought an avocado from my neighborhood colmado last saturday. it was sitting on the counter, glorious in its appearance. i buy from this guy every day, be it milk, cigarettes, bread, you name it. i have been his faithful customer for 2 years. so, the guy put the avocado in a bag, at which time i see my friend on the sidewalk. we strike up a small convesation, whereupon i leave to go home and enjoy my avocado withh the evening meal. well, when i opened the bag, it a was a tired, rotten fruit inside. in the few moments in which i conversed with my buddy, he did the old switcheroo. yes, folks, all of 10 pesos. it did not dawn upon him that i might have become so incensed at this treachery, i would take my business elsewhere. it did not penetrate his thick skull that this was downright dishonorable. all that mattered to him was the 10 pesos.
From: United States
These types of things are what makes the Dominican Republic a failed state. Crimes which are reported with facts like this which need to be investigated and prosecuted never are. LF and his government has failed us yet again.
From: Dominican Republic, Puerto Plata
Dread,
typical behaviour motivated by survival instinct.
Steal today, tomorrow is another day and the night has that magical effect of erasing all wrongdoing. I´m sure your colmadero will greet you with a big smile next time around.
This survival reflex is, I submit, inherited from the colonial era, where the Spanish viceroys and other thieves were sent to the colonies with one mission: to steal, mug, kill and what not.
Of course, those thieves were not on a payroll, since the Sovereign knew the thieves would also steal from her/him, by skimming. So, they knew they were to be canceled and replaced at any given time and would live one day at time. Corruption, nepotism, and all the evils we witness everyday have their roots in the colonial era, and that can´t be fixed.
They came to steal, they created a culture based upon that, and that's our legacy.
From: United States
Failed state.
Transparent corruption with impunity.
Losers.
From: United States
WaterPolo, you respond as if you know the guy. that is exactly what he did! the next morning, as i walked by, it was all " buenos dias, amigo", as if nothing had happened the evening before. he finds it so normal, and normative, it does not even dawn upon him that it could have caused me any distress. you are spot on with your analysis. when you are a survivalist, there is little room for morality. that is worsened by the fact that you do not know what it looks like, since those who should know better, and give you good examples to live by, act worse than you do.
Written by: Sajomero, 20 Sep 2010 1:31 PM
From: United States, Del primer Santiago de America....y el mejor!!!
Elías Wessin Chávez is a pig and his family is a disgrace to the Republic. He is milking the country's assets to his own benefit and the benefit of corrupt military personel. In Santiago where he tried to sell off the park at the entrance of the city, he really showed us his true colors.
From: United States
WaterPolo states
Of course, those thieves were not on a payroll, since the Sovereign knew the thieves would also steal from her/him, by skimming. So, they knew they were to be canceled and replaced at any given time and would live one day at time. Corruption, nepotism, and all the evils we witness everyday have their roots in the colonial era, and that can´t be fixed.
very profounfd, yet very simply put. everything is fleeting, and conditional. the zeitgeist is one of fatalism, and everything is conditional upon the whims of something outside individual control. that is why people resort to the statement "Si Dois Quiere". that is why nobody takes ownership of his own errors. tomorrow is that colossal unknown, so let us grab what we can , today, and let tomorrow take care of itself, since we could all be gone tomorrow,. so, hand me those 3000 pesos. i will blow them on beer and a chica in a cabana tonight, and have a word with the local compraventa tomorrow.
From: United States, FREEPORT, Long Island.... (Look, beyond the words)
Now we know why it didn't dawn on the Government that the export of fully dressed copper wires was exceeding the actual production of the raw material...........Freeze leo's account , I bet he has something to do with this one here......right!!!!...who am I kidding...
From: United States
Damn WalterPolo that was great insight.
I was wondering where the Dominicans got the entitlement and corruption gene.
It was the Spanish.
"They came to steal, they created a culture based upon that, and that's our legacy."
beautifully said.
My new mantra. thanks
From: United States
xlr8or, the issue is that when we say these things, people get affronted, and call us haters. we have to be mindful of their sensitive spots, but they must also understand that as foreigners, maybe we are accustomed to live in a society wherein people will beat you out of 5 or six figure amounts, but family does not scam family for 100 dollars. there is a poster on this board, who will remain anonymous, for obvious reasons. he has spent the better part of the last 3 years in court with his family members, who are trying to find wasys to beat him out of 2 small parcels of land. i nhave heard repetitive tales about similar cases , all over the land.
From: United States
as you also said, xlr8or, you NEVER pay for anything up front. you pay a guy to do a job before he gets it done, you might as well find another guy to do the job, because that first guy is long gone. then, you will get a litany of excuses, a song and dance, and a runaround. because tradesmen are not licensed, there is no governing body to turn to for help. if you are a gringo, they know that the playing field is not level, so you just get burned. they do not think about keeping you as a life long client, or customer, just what they can grab today. it is sad.
From: United States
what happened to the contract signed by head of salud publica that made his sister millions. He said he never signed it and then a copy of it appeared with his name on it. In the papers once then shoved aside. This guy has stolen hundred of millions from this country and nobody cares!!!!!!!!!!
From: Dominican Republic, Puerto Plata
gmiller,
Remember, everything they did, they did in the name of God! Isabela la Catolica!
Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzarro killed hundreds of thousands of people, destroyed flourishing civilizations and stole everything they could get their bloody hands on.
But, they paid their karma. Felipe II, on a divine mission to abolish Protestantism, decided to take on Queen Elizabeth's England,. He invested all of Spains ill-gotten wealth in his Armada adventure, and lost the war, not so much to the English but to a storm in the British channel, and drove Spain into bankruptcy.
The economic effects of that defeat were felt well into the 20th century, where Spain was known as Europe's trash can, until the EEC came to its rescue.
"They came to steal, they created a culture based upon that, and that's our legacy."
The sad legacy that now plagues half a continent.
From: United States
it still aint rescued yet. it could go down the tubes at any moment.
From: Dominican Republic, Puerto Plata
Dread,
they're still in arrears with the karma thing..
From: United States
with interest, WaterPolo, and the banker is about to call in the note.
Smaller
Bigger
Close Gallery
Facebook
Digg this
del.icio.us
Technorati
Yahoo
Why can we not read non-PLD sponsorized GOOD NEWS for once?
Sometimes I read stories like this and then I just want to vomit.
The really sad part is that we all know that somewhere along the line the story will be dropped and ultimately nothing will ever be done.
Where are those 3 sons of PLD officials accused of ripping off the aduanas vacationing now?
typical behaviour motivated by survival instinct.
Steal today, tomorrow is another day and the night has that magical effect of erasing all wrongdoing. I´m sure your colmadero will greet you with a big smile next time around.
This survival reflex is, I submit, inherited from the colonial era, where the Spanish viceroys and other thieves were sent to the colonies with one mission: to steal, mug, kill and what not.
Of course, those thieves were not on a payroll, since the Sovereign knew the thieves would also steal from her/him, by skimming. So, they knew they were to be canceled and replaced at any given time and would live one day at time. Corruption, nepotism, and all the evils we witness everyday have their roots in the colonial era, and that can´t be fixed.
They came to steal, they created a culture based upon that, and that's our legacy.
Failed state.
Transparent corruption with impunity.
Losers.
Of course, those thieves were not on a payroll, since the Sovereign knew the thieves would also steal from her/him, by skimming. So, they knew they were to be canceled and replaced at any given time and would live one day at time. Corruption, nepotism, and all the evils we witness everyday have their roots in the colonial era, and that can´t be fixed.
very profounfd, yet very simply put. everything is fleeting, and conditional. the zeitgeist is one of fatalism, and everything is conditional upon the whims of something outside individual control. that is why people resort to the statement "Si Dois Quiere". that is why nobody takes ownership of his own errors. tomorrow is that colossal unknown, so let us grab what we can , today, and let tomorrow take care of itself, since we could all be gone tomorrow,. so, hand me those 3000 pesos. i will blow them on beer and a chica in a cabana tonight, and have a word with the local compraventa tomorrow.
Damn WalterPolo that was great insight.
I was wondering where the Dominicans got the entitlement and corruption gene.
It was the Spanish.
"They came to steal, they created a culture based upon that, and that's our legacy."
beautifully said.
My new mantra. thanks
Remember, everything they did, they did in the name of God! Isabela la Catolica!
Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzarro killed hundreds of thousands of people, destroyed flourishing civilizations and stole everything they could get their bloody hands on.
But, they paid their karma. Felipe II, on a divine mission to abolish Protestantism, decided to take on Queen Elizabeth's England,. He invested all of Spains ill-gotten wealth in his Armada adventure, and lost the war, not so much to the English but to a storm in the British channel, and drove Spain into bankruptcy.
The economic effects of that defeat were felt well into the 20th century, where Spain was known as Europe's trash can, until the EEC came to its rescue.
"They came to steal, they created a culture based upon that, and that's our legacy."
The sad legacy that now plagues half a continent.
they're still in arrears with the karma thing..