Loan shark leader was close to troubled agency´s director, El Dia reports

Santo Domingo.- JoséMiguel Florencio, former State Works Supervisory Engineers Office (OISOE)technical director, was known to be one of the closest collaborators of therecently fired director Miguel Pimentel Kareh, eldia.com.do reports.

“Furthermore, he(Florencio) was also known among public works contractors as a "specialistin shelving files to withhold payments" and then "offeralternatives" in which he in the end allegedly made profits,” the outletsaid.

"The mechanismwas to shelve the files of finished works, not send the payments and 8,000 tricksmore against us in that department then ask for juicy commissions," said VictorPayano, president of the Dominican Engineers, Architects and Surveyors Guild (CODIA).

Linked to case

In their depositionsthe defendants in the extortion case unleashed in the heels of architect DavidRodriguez´s suicide, Florencio was named by Julio Rafael Perez as the personwho provided the money to lend to contractors.

The extortion came inthe form of withholding the contractors´ payment of allotments as theconstructions progressed.

"This man was aspecialist in conveniently shelving files and behind him was a line of people,including those who are now in custody from the recent case of the architect´s suicide,"Payano said.

Florencio, who was appointedby Pimentel once designated by president Danilo Medina at OISOE, always accompaniedhis boss during inspections, institutional celebrations and other activities.

Payano added thatlast year he and other contractors accused Florencio of withholding a total ofRD$75 million for finished works.