Judicial Branch Scandal
The former president of the Superior Council of Judicature, José Alfredo Escobar Araújo acknowledged that he had a friendship with Italian mobster Giorgio Sale, but denied knowledge of Sale's activities as narcotrafficker. Sale has been associated with paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso, himself accused of money laundering, and the Italian mafia group known as 'Ndrangheta.
On November 28, 2006 Escobar Araújo said that he would accept any decision and obey any orders from the Magistrates of the Penal Chamber of Judicature regarding his connection to Sale.
Escobar Araújo's wife, Ana Margarita Fernández, was an official in the Inspector General's office. Escobar resigned the presidency of the Superior Council on November 30 but continued as a magistrate of that body.
Read more about this topic: Colombian Parapolitics Scandal
Famous quotes containing the words judicial, branch and/or scandal:
“Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“That man’s the true Conservative
Who lops the mouldered branch away.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“There is no scandal like rags, nor any crime so shameful as poverty.”
—George Farquhar (1678–1707)