ARGENTINA: Fresh Scandal on 1000th Anniversary of AMIA Bombing

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Apr 9 1997 (IPS) - On the eve of the 1000th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA), which left 86 dead and shook Latin America’s largest Jewish community to the core, not only does the case remain unsolved, but a fresh scandal has cropped up.

Prominent lawyer Mariano Cuneo Libarona, the attorney for one of the police being tried in connection with the case, is facing charges of having stolen evidence and attempting to blackmail the judge presiding over the investigation of the bombing.

Cuneo Libarona, who defends public functionaries with legal problems, shot into the limelight last year as lawyer for football legend Diego Maradona’s agent. Arrested Tuesday evening, he is now facing five to 10 years in prison on charges of removing a video from a safe in the court building where the AMIA bombing is being investigated.

Federal Judge Juan Jose Galeano, who is presiding over the case, reported that another of the attorney’s clients, police commissioner Jose Ribelli, being tried in connection with the bombing, attempted to intimidate him with a video in which the judge himself can be seen discussing money with another detainee, Carlos Telleldin.

Telleldin is being held on charges of having prepared the stolen vehicle used as a car-bomb in the attack. He allegedly turned it over to a group of police from Buenos Aires province, including Ribelli.

In the stolen video, which Galeano himself taped, the judge can be seen attempting to persuade Telleldin to provide names.

Jewish community leaders said they were aware of Galeano’s interrogation of Telleldin. The president of the Delegation of Israeli Associations in Argentina, Ruben Beraja, said he himself had proposed the meeting.

In the video, Galeano euphemistically refers to reward money Telleldin could receive by providing information – a gesture portrayed by Ribelli, in his attempt to blackmail the judge, as an illegal act.

Ribelli gave Galeano the video, and suggested he view it alone, because it included material that put him in an awkward position.

Galeano then realised that a copy of the video was missing, which he immediately reported. He denounced that Ribelli had attempted to intimidate him, and suspicion fell on the detained commissioner’s lawyer, who, it was discovered, had offered the video to the press to discredit the judge.

Prior to becoming well-known in 1996 as defence attorney for Maradona’s agent Guillermo Copola, who was arrested on charges of drug possession and dealing and later freed, Cuneo Libarona acted as lawyer for Amira Yoma, President Carlos Menem’s sister-in-law and former secretary, who was tried for allegedly belonging to a gang that laundered drug money.

He later defended Matilde Menendez, the former head of social security, accused of irregularities in the administration of the pension system, as well as former defence minister Oscar Camilion, who allegedly took part in illegal arms deals with Ecuador.