Guatemala wiretaps lead to fraud, bribery cases in gov’t

Wiretappings that prosecutors used to track down a million-dollar fraud ring run out of the Guatemalan government have cost the vice president her job and now may lead to the supreme court.Recorded telephone calls obtained by The Associated Press show backdoor negotiating between a businessman, lawyers and suspects to pay bribes to free those detained in a scheme to defraud the state of millions of dollars in customs payments. The tax fraud scheme has rocked Guatemala’s political class since it was announced in April and has become the largest corruption scandal for a sitting president, in this case Otto Perez Molina. Former Vice President Roxana Baldetti resigned Friday and gave up her immunity from possible prosecution, a move lauded by Perez Molina.

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