Will Venezuela erase a murder conviction in the Antonini case?

Will Venezuela erase a murder conviction in the Antonini case?
3 January 2008

Corrupt officials within the Venezuelan government, intent on damage control in the Antonini money laundering scandal, are reportedly in the process of placing a large bribe with a senior appellate judge, to illegally erase the murder conviction of Walter Alexander del Nogal, the reputed supervisor of Antonini's multiple money laundering operations in Argentina.

Del Nogal, who is a senior advisor to DISIP, is presently in custody in Italy, arrested under an order of the Anti-Mafia Magistrate, pursuant to allegations that he was engaged in narcotics trafficking, including the sale of cocaine, with the Sicilian Mafia.

He is also a fugitive from justice in Switzerland, having escaped whilst serving a sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering, several years ago.

Do they really think an illegal act by a court will rehabilitate this career criminal in the eyes of the public?

This week's developments demonstrate that desperate measures are being undertaken by corrupt officials to divert the public's attention from the issues of endemic governmental corruption that were revealed in the Antonini scandal.

The government's obvious attempt to use the publicity surrounding the efforts to secure the release of three hostages held by the FARC having failed, it is now looking to abuse the judicial system: Military sources in Venezuela have reported that an illegal payment will be offered to Judge Alfonso Dugarte, of the Court of Appeal, to set aside the convictions of del Nogal [UID 441491] and co-defendant Ramiro Helmeyer Quevedo [UID 441490], who were found guilty of killing Mario Patty Fajardo, by throwing him out of an aircraft flying over the Caribbean in 1995.

President Chavez issued a pardon for both defendants. Helmeyer, also a DISIP advisor, is a fugitive from justice in the United States, having fled a federal firearms charge; he was later indicted on the charge of Escape in US District Court in Georgia.

* Helmeyer is also reported to have been the terrorist who disrupted the Caracas financial district in 1993 with six bomb attacks, having received the explosives from dissident Venezuelan Military officers linked to Hugo Chavez Frias.

The grounds alleged to vacate the conviction are that the deceased is not only still alive, but a fugitive from justice in Valencia where he as been charged with auto theft. The proponents of this scheme have stated that Patty has been seen alive, and court documents have reportedly been forged, with sufficient supporting facts created, to falsely document the bogus criminal charges.

The fact that Patty has not been seen since he was seen falling into the Caribbean thirteen years ago does not seem to have bothered the plotters, who allegedly include the highest-ranking official in the Ministry of the Interior, which supervises the judiciary, who is reportedly instructing the ranking judge of the Circuit Court, Magistrate Eladio Ramon Aponte Aponte [UID 318820], on this matter.

Should this bogus legal maneuver be successfully completed during the coming week, then the man whom most experts believe orchestrated a complex money laundering scheme in Argentina last year will be free of his homicide conviction.

Is this a case of governmental corruption stepping in to pervert the criminal justice system in furtherance of a money laundering cover-up?

You decide, but as for me, I wonder if all this trouble is to convince an imprisoned Walter del Nogal that he is better off not cooperating with the authorities in Italy, for he probably could bring down a government if he talked.

* United States vs. Helmeyer, Case Nos. 82-cr-00220, 00355 (N.D. Ga.)

http://www.world-check.com/articles/2008/01/03/wil-venezuela-erase-murder-conviction-antonini-cas/

Four foreign nationals arrested as illegal agents of foreign government

Southern District of Florida Public Affairs

Office: Alicia Valle Special

Counsel to the U.S. Attorney (305) 961-9153

Yovanny Lopez Public Affairs Specialist (305) 961-9316

Public Affairs Fax (305) 530-7055

Press Release
December 12, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOUR FOREIGN NATIONALS ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH BEING ILLEGAL AGENTS OF A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT

Three Venezuelans and an Uruguayan national were arrested last night and appeared in federal court in Miami today on charges of acting and conspiring to act as agents of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela within the United States, without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by law, announced Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for Justice Department's National Security Division, R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office.

Charged in the complaint were defendants Moises Maionica, 36, Antonio Jose Canchica Gomez, 37, Rodolfo Edgardo Wanseele Paciello, 40, Franklin Duran, 40, and Carlos Kauffmann, 35. All have been arrested, except for defendant Antonio Jose Canchica Gomez, who remains at large.

If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of ten (10) years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

According to the complaint filed in federal court, the defendants coordinated and participated in a series of meetings, beginning in August 2007, in South Florida with Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson to procure Antonini's help in concealing the source of an intended $800,000 cash contribution to the political campaign of a candidate in the recent Argentine presidential election of Oct. 28, 2007.

The last meeting took place on Dec. 11, 2007, when defendants Maionica, Duran, and another individual met with Antonini to discuss the creation of false documents in furtherance of the cover-up.

The events culminating in today's criminal charges began on Aug. 4, 2007, when Antonini flew by Cessna Citation, bearing registration number N5113S, from Venezuela to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The privately chartered aircraft had previously departed from Caracas Maiquetía International Airport in Venezuela, carrying eight passengers on board, including, among others, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson. Upon arrival at Buenos Aires, Argentine Customs Service inspected the luggage offloaded from the Cessna Citation, and found approximately $800,000 in United States currency in luggage being carried by Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson.

The Argentine authorities seized the money and Antonini returned to his South Florida home. The complaint alleges that beginning in mid-August, 2007 and continuing through Dec. 11, 2007, the defendants and other participants in the conspiracy, acting as agents of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, sought to obtain the assistance of Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a U.S. citizen who travels under both United States and Venezuelan passports, in concealing from the people of Argentina and others, the source and destination and the role of the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the attempted delivery of the approximately $800,000.

During these meetings, the defendants told Antonini that various high-ranking Venezuelan government officials, including the Office of the Vice President of the Republic, members of the DISIP (Intelligence and Preventive Services Directorate), and a high-ranking official from the Justice Ministry of Venezuela, were aware of this matter.

The defendants told Antonini that these funds had been destined for the campaign of a candidate in the Argentine presidential election of Oct. 28, 2007. "The complaint filed today outlines an alleged plot by agents of the Venezuelan government to manipulate an American citizen in Miami in an effort to keep the lid on a burgeoning international scandal.

These arrests should serve as a warning to other agents who operate illegally in America on behalf of foreign powers," said Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta stated, "Today's complaint alleges an effort by the agents of Venezuela to travel to the United States for the purpose coercing our citizens to help conceal the true nature of a growing international scandal.

This is not the first time in recent years that we have charged individuals with operating illegally in South Florida as agents of foreign powers, and likely will not be the last. The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to make prosecution of these cases one of our highest priorities."

"The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement and intelligence community partners to pursue those who act illegally as agents of foreign governments while in our country," said Acting Assistant Director Daniel L. Cloyd, FBI Counterintelligence Division.FBI Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Solomon stated, "South Florida takes pride in the diversity of the people that have chosen to live here and we will always embrace those that come here to enjoy the freedom and opportunities that are available to us all.

When unregistered foreign agents believe that they can operate on our soil with impunity and disregard for U.S. laws, it undermines the national security of our country and the safety of our citizens.

This case demonstrates our resolve in ensuring that activities conducted in the United States are free from nefarious foreign influence."Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its work in this investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Mulvihill and Senior Trial Attorney Clifford I. Rones, of the Counterespionage Section at the Justice Department's National Security Division.

A copy of this press release may be found on the Justice Department's website at www.usdoj.gov, or on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at

http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/

or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov

Will the Antonini/Del Nogal money laundering scandal bring down the Venezuelan government?

Financial Crime Consultant, for World-Check

by Kenneth Rijock

Mr. Rijock, age 59, is a Financial Crime Consultant based in Miami.
More about the Author
Will the Antonini/Del Nogal money laundering scandal bring down the Venezuelan government?
21 October 2007
For those readers who want to learn the latest developments in the Argentinean-Venezuelan money laundering case, we have summarised them below. Denial seem to be the order of the day for the Venezuelan government, which appears to be under extreme pressure to take legal action against Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson and Alex Del Nogal, both of whom are not just linked to governmental officials, as has been claimed, but are employed by the Venezuelan government. Is this case Venezuela's Watergate?
To update you on this unfolding story:
The Venezuelan government has announced that it is taking steps to seize and freeze all assets of Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson,[UID 684165] wanted in Argentina, in connection with money laundering and Walter Alexander "Alex" Del Nogal [UID 441492], in custody in Italy due to an arrest warrant for narcotics trafficking issued by a Palermo magistrate investigating Mafia narcotics operations. No actual asset seizures have been reported, however, and it remains to be seen whether this announcement was intended to pacify the growing outrage being expressed by many Venezuelans over the growing scandal over what is known there as "valijagate" (Suitcasegate).
Government agents ransacked Del Nogal's home, ostensibly looking for incriminating documents, but questions are being raised as to whether it was a pretext for destruction of evidence linking Del Nogal with high-ranking government officials. Other sources claim there was outright theft of some of Del Nogal's possessions by these agents.
Governmental press releases have claimed that Del Nogal has been released, and was on his way back to his native Venezuela, but the Italian government, who is holding him, has not released him, and opposition leaders are pointing to this as an example of intentional disinformation, to mislead the Venezuelan public.
There are allegations out of Venezuela that Del Nogal is engaged in substantial petroleum business in Panama, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Argentina.
Whilst Antonini has not, as of this date, been extradited from the US to face charges in Argentina, His close associate, Franklin Duran, has been seen driving into his multi-million dollar Key Biscayne Mashta Island mansion, under close surveillance from a Land Rover packed with four men in business suits. It is unknown whether these are bodyguards, or US law enforcement agents following him around Miami.
Del Nogal has been identified, by a high-level Colombian narcotics figure in currently in custody in that country, as the primary money laundering player in Venezuela. Will he now be indicted in Colombia?
Venoco President Carlos Kaufmann [UID 239412] has reportedly fled Venezuela altogether, and is presently living in his castle in Italy. Our readers will recall that Antonini has business cards identifying himself as a vice president of Venoco, though he resides in the US, and he apparently has no duties at the company. Venoco mysteriously holds a monopoly upon petroleum lubricants in Venezuela, and is believed to be a de facto government-controlled corporation with close links to officers at PdVsa, the government petrochemical giant.
Del Nogal has been reportedly linked to other senior PdVsa executives in questionable activities that seem to indicate money laundering operations, and we shall publish these details as soon as verification of this information can be obtained.
There has been no explanation offered as to exactly why Del Nogal took eleven trips to Argentina, and the question pesists: why is the Argentinian prosecutor who seeks Antonini silent on Del Nogal?
Photographs taken at a recent birthday party at Del Nogal's Caracas residence show that reputed senior members of the Sicilian Mafia who reside in Venezuela attended that function. We shall continue to monitor this story, including a follow-up report on Del Nogal's Italian indictment, and details of the PdVsa connection.

http://www.world-check.com/articles/2007/10/21/antoninidel-nogal-money-laundering-scandal-intensi/

Venezuelan Money Launderer slated to plead guilty in Argentina

Venezuelan Money Launderer slated to plead guilty in Argentina
9 September 2007

Fugitive Venezuelan-American "bagman" Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, wanted by Argentina in connection with the US$800,000 he attempted to smuggle into Buenos Aires, will reportedly plead guilty, and serve a six-month jail sentence in Argentina for his crime. If you are looking for a reason why he would leave his comfortable Key Biscayne, Florida residence, to serve time, sources inside Venezuela advise that he will reportedly receive a large sum from the Chavez government in exchange for falling upon his sword, and refraining from disclosing any information to Argentinean and Venezuelan authorities. If this happens, will the truth never be known?

Impeccable sources from Venezuela have now supplied heretofore unknown details about the bulk-cash smuggling operation which has created a major scandal in both Argentina and Venezuelan politics:

Although US$800,000 was indeed seized from Antononi's suitcase, $2m was previously brought into Argentina by the President of PdVSA. A figure of $3m was stated to be the total amount of illegal campaign funds, meaning that there is a discrepancy. Did Antonini divert for his own purposes the missing $200,000? He only had $800,000 in his suitcase. Where exactly is that cash?

The Venezuelan and Argentinean passengers reportedly consumed five expensive bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label (for a total cost of US$500-750) on the flight. Eyewitnesses report they were obviously under the influence of strong drink upon arrival at Buenos Aires' Jorge Newberry Airport.

Antonini was reportedly quite rude to the customs staff, and is said to have told the inspector that just one of the "books" he was carrying was worth more than the official's annual salary. Remember, when asked what he was carrying, he replied libros, meaning books. Did the alcohol cause him to become careless?

Confirmation has been received from several sources that all the $3m being bulk-cash smuggled into Argentina were destined for the presidential campaign of Sra. Kirschner.

Antonini was regularly moving illicit cash into Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia, and took a total of 15 trips, all for the alleged purpose of paying off and corruptly influencing government officials in those countries.

Antononi is reported to have placed an urgent telephone call, whilst at Argentinean customs, to the President of PDVSA, precisely when the $800,000 was found and seized. He was allegedly told to solve the problem at all costs.

The source of these illicit funds is rumoured to be a combination of narcotics profits and money illegally diverted from PdVSA.

Antonini has been reportedly debriefed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Has he been offered immunity from prosecution for crimes committed in the US, and what were they?

In an obvious attempt by Antonini's business partners, Franklin Duran and Carlos Kaufmann to disassociate themselves from him, he has been recently removed as an officer from Foxdelta Investments Inc., a Florida corporation. The entity had already filed its Annual Report in June, naming Antonini, but in an unusual step, the company filed another Report in August, removing him from office.

Another Florida company Antonini was associated with, Venuz Supplies Inc., an active entity that is engaged in business with the Venezuelan petroleum industry, has been mysteriously dissolved. We do not know whether his title of Vice President at the Venezuelan petrochemical company, Venoco, has been terminated.

There are is more incriminating information surfacing in this case, and in our next article, we expose additional links and relationships which may put the matter into a proper global perspective.