Martínez Brito defends judge in the Jet Set case, Fátima Veloz: "the weapons she had weren't enough"

Santo Domingo, RD. – Regarding the allegations that the judge of the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of the National District, Fátima Veloz, had issued the measure against Antonio Espaillat and his sister Maribel influenced by alleged ties that link them, the jurist and communicator José Martínez Brito denied such accusations.

Martínez Brito, panelist on the program Esto No es Radio, clarified that the judge did everything she could with the tools she had at that moment, which were not enough, as she had already warned in other comments where she asked the population not to create high expectations regarding the results of the trial for the collapse of the roof of the Jet Set nightclub, which claimed the lives of more than 230 people and left about 180 injured. “But the weapons the judge had at that moment weren't enough,” she affirmed. Brito criticized that it is not fair to ruin the judge's reputation when she acted in accordance with Dominican laws. He pointed out that she is a young woman with an outstanding career, with successes and failures, and that, like everyone else, she has ties to certain people, places or companies.

"And we grab now and rant, throw dirt at the career of a young woman who has had a showy career, in which she has clearly had successes and failures like any other profession, goes against the principles of Dominican society, or at least those to which we aspire as foundations and values of our society," he said.

The lawyer questioned that the Dominican Penal Code has not yet been modified, as this directly influenced the decision to impose a coercive measure consisting of house arrest, a ban on leaving the country, and the payment of 50 million pesos against the Espaillat brothers, accused of being responsible for the collapse of the nightclub's roof, after allegedly ignoring signs of deterioration.

“Also in this same program we have spoken on multiple occasions about the need for a new Penal Code, its modification, in order to have greater tools to attack new forms of crimes and offenses. Among them is also the strengthening of sanctions for situations like these, whether due to negligence of the owners, inefficiency or for any other reason. We need that new code”, suggested Brito in Esto No es Radio.

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Accusations against Judge Fátima Veloz after ruling on the Espaillat case

The transparency of the judicial process against the Espaillat siblings, Antonio and Maribel, accused of the collapse of the roof at the Jet Set nightclub, was questioned after possible family and business ties between the judge in the case and associates of one of the accused were revealed. Magistrate Fátima Veloz, who heard the coercion measure hearing, is the daughter of businessman Ernesto Veloz, a recognized partner of the influential hotelier Frank Rainieri. The latter, according to corporate records, maintains business relationships between the PuntaCana Group and the defendant Antonio Espaillat, which has raised alerts about a possible conflict of interest. The Public Ministry filed charges against the Espaillat brothers for their alleged responsibility in the disaster that left 236 dead and more than 180 injured, alleging gross negligence, irregularities in the remodeling permits, and structural failures related to the installation of equipment on the roof.

Although the prosecution requested 18 months of pre-trial detention and that the case be declared complex, Judge Veloz instead imposed an economic coercion measure of RD$50 million for each defendant, which has generated strong criticism among sectors that demand justice for the victims.