Pontaquarto ratifies bribes were ordered by De la Rúa

Former Parliament Secretary Mario Pontaquarto ratified today in court than then President Fernando de la Rúa ordered the payment of bribery in order to guarantee that Peronist senators voted workforce flexibility law in April 2000.

“De la Rúa said: ‘fix it up with (former Intelligence Agency head Fernando) De Santibañez,” Pontaquarto said as he testified during trial. Pontaquarto also assured that former senators Augusto Alasino, Alberto Tell also took part of the meeting and that then Labour Minister Alberto Flamarique arrived right before the encounter ended.

Pontaquarto, who confessed a decade ago to delivering the money on the orders of De la Rúa himself, claimed he picked up the 5 million dollars from Argentina’s Intelligence Service (SIDE), giving 4 million dollars to one senator, Emilio Cantarero, and 1 million dollars to another, José Genoud.

Earlier today, De la Rúa ‘s attorney Valeria Corbacho requested the nullity of the charges against her client.