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Ousted OAS chief questioned in Costa Rica
by Marianela Jimenez

The Associated Press    Translate This Article
15 October 2004

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - A former Costa Rican president returned home Friday a week after he was ousted as chief of the Organization of American States, and was slapped in handcuffs and led off for questioning on allegations he took kickbacks.

Miguel Angel Rodriguez resigned on Oct. 8 after Costa Rican investigators said they were looking into allegations he had shared in government contracts granted to a French company. He had served as OAS president for only two weeks.

''I am calm, I am not afraid. I have a lot of faith in God,'' Rodriguez told reporters on the plane. ''I have come back to defend myself and prove my innocence.''

Rodriguez was handcuffed as he stepped off the plane. Security officers later took the cuffs off and put the former president into a windowless compartment in a police truck that drove off escorted by other vehicles.

As the motorcade neared the downtown office where Rodriguez will be held until charges are filed, people gathered outside to boo and shout insults at the vehicle carrying Rodriguez.

''Thieves belong in jail!'' some chanted.

He fainted inside the building but quickly revived, police said. A doctor indicated the incident wasn't serious enough to merit hospitalization.

Rodriguez has not been formally charged with any crimes, but a judge has summoned him to testify about the allegations.

Chief prosecutor Francisco Dall'Anese has said that potential charges against Rodriguez include illegal enrichment, bribery and aggravated corruption.

Jose Antonio Lobo, a former director of Costa Rica's power and telephone company has testified that he had accepted a $2.4 million ''prize'' on a $149 million cellular telephone contract that went to the French company Alcatel in 2001, the year before Rodriguez left office.

Lobo said Rodriguez had asked for a majority of that money and had received $510,000. Rodriguez acknowledged receiving $140,000 from Lobo, but said it was a loan to finance his campaign for the OAS leadership.

Investigators are also looking into alleged payments by the government of Taiwan to accounts controlled by Rodriguez.

Copyright©2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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