New allegations that Colombia prosecutor covered up bribes

[Judi Lynn]

Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
Updated 7:41 pm CST, Thursday, November 15, 2018


BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A dramatic recording from beyond the grave has led to allegations that Colombia's chief prosecutor — a key U.S. ally in the war on drugs — tried to cover up bribery payments that were part of Latin America's biggest corruption scandal, prompting calls for his resignation.

The recording shows Nestor Martinez, then a legal counsel to Colombia's biggest banking group, browbeating an internal auditor who reported finding likely bribe payments in a $2 billion highway project undertaken jointly with scandal-scarred Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

"You already got into this and you're the only idiot who can finish it," Martinez tells auditor Jorge Pizano in a profanity-laced conversation broadcast Monday by the Noticias Uno television program. Pizano admits he can't be certain the suspicious payments were bribes, suggesting they may have even been outlays to paramilitary groups, and the conversation ends with Martinez telling Pizano not to discuss the matter with others.

The news program said Pizano, who had cancer, gave it the recording on the condition it not be aired until his death, which came last week. Authorities initially said he died of a heart attack, but that is now under review after his son died less than 72 hours later from exposure to cyanide contained in a bottle of flavored water found on his father's desk.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/New-allegations-that-Colombia-prosecutor-covered-13391986.php