Not only is Samuel Moreno’s release request denied, but new security measures were put in place Tuesday for the ex-mayor who was recently charged with embezzlement and conspiracy.
Former Bogota Mayor Moreno was denied his request for release and will be held at a Police Academy, according to newspaper El Tiempo, along with 21 other newly decreed security measures for Moreno’s detention until his trial for taking part in a “Carousel Contraction” scandal that embezzled money from the State.
The judge that reviewed Moreno’s case deemed that the former mayor is a “danger to society due to the amount embezzled that he was charged with and the amount of civil damages incurred by irregularities surrounding the celebration of multimillion contracts in the capital of the Republic,” reported newspaper El Espectador.
The judge’s verdict was also based on the alleged likeliness of Moreno as a flight risk to avoid his potential 21 year sentence in prison.
The former mayor was recently charged with conspiracy and embezzlement in the contract scandal and was suspended from office in 2011.
