Calderón Trial Set To
Commence On November 3
The Tribunal de Juicio
del Segundo Circuito
Judicial de San José is
getting ready to begin
the trial of the case
known as Caja-Fischel,
which will try eight men
for, among them former
Costa Rican president,
Rafael Ángel Calderón
Fournier.
The former president, as
well as the president of
the Corporación Fischel,
Walter Reiche Fischel,
and six others are
accused of devising a
criminal plan that
"allowed the purchase of
us$39.5 million in
medical equipment for
the CCSS (also known as
the Caja), in exchange
for ilelgal economic
reward".
The Fiscalía (Attorney
General's office)
alleges that former
president Calderón,
conspired with the
former Caja president,
Eliseo Vargas, to
"receive and conceal
illegal payments" from
the Finnish consortium,
Instrumentarium Medlko
Medical, which was
represented in Costa
Rica by the Corporación
Fischel in a deal to
sell the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro
Social (CCSS), us$39.5
million dollars in
medical equipment.
The trial is set to
begin on November 3 and
will have four, instead
of the usual three
judges and will be held
is courtroom III of the
Tribunales de Justicia
del Segundo Circuito
Judicial de Goicoechea.
The four judges trying
the case will be
Teresita Rodríguez
Arroyo, Alejandro López
McAdam, Víctor Dobles
Ovares and Franz
Paniagua Mejía.
Mejia is a supply judge
who will sit through the
trial from the beginning
and will be called upon
in the case of an
emergency as not to
interrupt, suspend or
annul the trial.
The inclusion of a
fourth judge is to
ensure that, according
to the Código Procesal
Penal (Criminal Process
Code), the trial can
continue in the case a
judge is incapacitated
and cannot continue.
Some 300 witnesses are
expected to give
testimony during the
trial.
The accused:
 
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