In December 2008 the singer Luis Miguel Punta del Este was presented. The Mexican’s presentation was an exclusive event that few had the privilege of attending and among them was the lucky one Walter Bento and his wife Marta Boiza. Former judge Alfredo Rodríguez testified as a witness in the case that is shaking the Federal Courts and confirmed that they traveled on a private flight with the hotel businessman Matthias Garfunkel.
In reality, Rodríguez testified that he and his wife were invited to the recital by lawyer Raúl López, a personal friend of Rodríguez. López was a lawyer for Garfunkel, owner of the Intercontinental Hotel in Mendoza and the KLP Emprendimientos firm. When former judge Alfredo Rodríguez arrived in Buenos Aires he found himself in a luxurious hotel with his colleague Walter Bento and his wife Marta Boiza. There was also Matias Garfunkel, who offered to take them on a private plane to Punta del Este. Bento, Rodríguez and López, accompanied by their partners, then boarded the aircraft in which, according to the businessman, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner once traveled.
Rodríguez admitted that for years he had a friendly relationship with Walter Bento, to whom he opened the doors of the Federal Courts of Mendoza in the 90s. Specifically, he proposed him as a secretary in the court he was in charge of and that was Bento’s first job in the province. “He worked with me for approximately 12 years. We went on vacation together. We had a good relationship and shared groups of friends,” he added in reference to the Cioffi family, the Sastre family and the Passerini family.
“We had contacts until he was promoted to judge. I retired in 2008 and left Mendoza. The personal relationship was no longer the same,” the former magistrate added as a witness. The trip to Punta del Este was in December 2008. As a judge, Alfredo Rodríguez appointed Marta Boiza as his personal secretary.
Regarding the trip to Punta del Este, he said that they met Bento in Buenos Aires. “We went to Buenos Aires to another hotel owned by that businessman, whose last name was Garfunkel. Dr. Bento was there. I don’t remember how they invited him. We had lunch that day with Garfunkel and Bento’s wife. I think we were going to take the buquebus, but Garfunkel said he had planes and offered to take us.
“I never saw anything complicated. He took us to Uruguay and then we returned on his plane but without the businessman. The only thing I paid for was the tickets to Buenos Aires. We didn’t pay for the hotel, nor did we pay for the plane to Punta del Este. We stayed at the Conrad Hotel and Garfunkel must have been one of the owners. That’s the feeling I got. It could be that we stayed two nights,” said Rodriguez, who did not remember if he was still a judge at the time of the trip. Two days later, they flew from Punta del Este to Buenos Aires on the same private plane but without the businessman.
“I don’t remember the reason why Dr. Bento was invited. I don’t know if he knew the businessman. We never talked about any case,” he added, and his statements were later confirmed by his partner, Analía García.
The Beginnings of Bento
According to Rodríguez, Bento arrived from Buenos Aires for family reasons. He wanted to escape the dizzying pace of Capital, where he worked as a stock market lawyer. Rodríguez said that Bento had no financial problems and that when he arrived in Mendoza he rented an apartment while he built a house in the Bombal neighborhood. That was the first of many real estate transactions for the family. Then they bought a lot in Palmares, built a house, bought another, luxury apartments in the Premium Tower, commercial premises, another apartment in Godoy Cruz, duplexes in Maipú among other assets.
Walter Bento is accused of leading an illicit association in real competition with the crime of passive bribery as author, illicit enrichment, in real competition with the crime of laundering assets of criminal origin, prevarication, ideological falsehood and abuse of authority in his capacity. From author. His children and his wife are investigated for illicit enrichment and laundering of criminal assets.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is trying to prove that the family income is not enough to justify the standard of living they had. In this regard, they are trying to show that the luxury cars, the hundreds of trips and the expensive properties were purchased with funds that came from the criminal activities carried out by the alleged illicit association.
