The Quirino trial, without Quirino

SANTO DOMINGO.- Yesterday the trial at the Federal Court for the Southern District in New York City continued, but the principle figure, Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, was not present. There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not Quirino had reached a plea bargain with the federal prosecutors According to the report filed by Miguel Cruz Tejada, the reporter did not find any indications that the principle suspect had reached such a deal with the prosecutors.

The speculations are fired by the total silence that the assistant prosecutor, John O'Donnell, the judge, Kimba Wood and the defense attorney, Lawrence Ruggiero have maintained with respect to the case against Quirino.

Meanwhile, as the first phase of the trial against local businesswoman Fátima Henríquez Díaz, the owner of the Fama Shipping Company in Upper Manhattan got underway, the reporter went to the Open Records Office of the court and found the public record of the Quirino case which is still classified as "open". The cases against other persons named in the case have been classified as "closed."

Among the closed files are those of the truck driver Tirso Cuevas Nin, who was sentenced on 11 August, and that of former colonel Lidio Nin Terrero, who will hear his sentence during a special hearing on 3 October.

Richard Peña Mejía was freed after the dismissal of the charges again him and is just the second person, after Ricardo Reyes Mendoza, that did not receive a relatively severe sentence or have to negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutors.

The reporter talked to Justin Levine, the lawyer for José Ortega De León, who received a 10 year sentence after a plea bargain. The lawyer said that the United States justice system give an accused two options: One is to maintain innocence and go to trial, and the other is to declare yourself guilty and avoid having to face a jury.

Levine suggested that the media should not speculate or publish extra-official documents, especially on Quirino because of the implications and the powerful people involved in the Dominican Republic.

He pointed out that there are many documents from hearings that were held without the presence of reporters, that are sealed, because the government of the United States has to protect the identiy of informants and collaborators when it is dealing with cases as delicate and as dangerous ad Quirino.

He said, "Nobody, absolutely nobody, up until now, knows or can say with certainty what is happening with Mr. Quirino."

The press office for the prosecutor of the Southern District Court, Michael J. García, has kept a stony silence on information that local and national media have asked for regarding the situation of the former Army captain, and only released dates and charges that were already well known.

One source said that the trials of those that have not struck deals up to now will probably take some time.