Posted on 10/18/2005 2:43:24 PM PDT by HAL9000
From Tempo.com.ph -
US sends Mark Jimenez back home in November
By JEAMMA E. SABATE
Former Manila (6th District) Congressman Mark Jimenez will be deported in November to the Philippines from the United States after serving his sentence in a federal prison, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.
This was confirmed by lawyer Ricardo Diaz, chief of NBI Interpol Division, saying that Kevin R. Peters of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has advised the bureau of Jimenez's return to the country.
Jimenez, 57, whose real name is Mario Crespo, is scheduled to be deported on November 21. He is expected to leave New York via DL Flight 7928 on around 5 a.m. (N.Y. time) that day.
The former congressman will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) via connecting Korean Airline Flight 621 on Nov. 22 at 10:55 a.m. (Manila time).
"The NBI welcomes the return of Jimenez. With his stature and resources, he will be a great help to the country. He will be a free man. He faced the music, so to speak, and now he is at peace with the law. He already served his sentence," said Diaz.
Diaz said escort is no longer needed for his deportation as he already served his sentence in the US. "He is no longer a threat to security. Besides, as far as fingerprints and other documentation are concerned, we already have them as we (NBI) were the ones who facilitated the extradition of Jimenez," said Diaz.
Jimenez was detained in Florida after being convicted by a U.S. court on charges of "conspiracy to commit offenses against U.S. Income Taxes".
The ex-congressman was extradited to the U.S. last December 26, 2002. He was convicted by a US court on November 14, 2003.
From inq7.net
US to deport Jimenez back to RP on Nov. 21
First posted 04:13am (Mla time) Oct 19, 2005
By Juliet Labog-Javellana, Margaux C. Ortiz
Inquirer News ServiceALMOST three years ago when he was extradited to the United States, Mark Jimenez warned: "This is just the beginning; I shall return."
Next month, the former Manila congressman, who rocked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration with charges of corruption in 2002, will make good on that vow.
After serving a sentence in a US federal prison, Jimenez (aka Mario Crespo) is to be deported by the US government on Nov. 21.
The 57-year-old businessman-politician who used his wealth to gain clout in the Philippine political scene has been doing time for tax fraud and making illegal campaign contributions to the US Democratic Party. He was previously detained in a facility in Florida before being transferred to one in Pennsylvania.
The US Department of Homeland Security has issued a notification of Jimenez's deportation, confirmed Ricardo Diaz, chief of the National Bureau of Investigation's Interpol Division.
Straight from his prison cell, Jimenez will be put on DL flight 7928 in New York on Nov. 21. He is scheduled to arrive in Manila via KE flight 621 on Nov. 22 at 10:55 a.m.
He will have no US escorts, Diaz said.
Nani Perez
Jimenez's freedom and return to the Philippines are expected to revive the $2-million extortion case he had filed against former Justice Secretary Hernando "Nani" Perez. The case is now in the Office of the Ombudsman.
"I think he will pursue that case; he will not let Nani off the hook," a friend of Jimenez's told the Inquirer.
Jimenez had accused Perez of extorting $2 million from him, ostensibly to approve a power deal with the Argentine firm Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmina Sociedad Anomina (IMPSA).
He had also claimed to have given checks worth P8 million to the Lualhati Foundation of Ms Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Former Bulacan Representative Wilfrido Villarama had likewise said that on Ms Arroyo's orders, he collected P18 million from Jimenez for the foundation.
Jimenez's friend, who had asked not to be named, said the former congressman had "put everything behind" him except for his case against Perez.
Perez lost his job because of Jimenez's accusation.
Public office
Jimenez has been rumored to be planning to run for mayor of Manila in 2007, but his friend said Jimenez's family was objecting to the idea.
But Jimenez could very well seek public office because he had not run afoul of Philippine laws, the friend said. "His record was in the United States, so there is no problem here, he can run."
After vigorously fighting his extradition, Jimenez flew out of the Philippines on Dec. 26, 2002, and subjected himself to US laws.
Although accompanied by several Filipino congressmen, he was handcuffed on the flight that took him to a facility in Agana, Guam, before being flown to Miami, Florida.
While his case was being heard, Jimenez was allowed to stay in a private apartment. But he was fitted with an electronic bracelet that would have sounded the alarm had he skipped Florida.
It turned out that after sentencing, he was detained in a Pennsylvania prison.
Jimenez was disqualified as representative of Manila's 6th district in early 2003 for vote-buying. In November 2003, he was convicted of electoral fraud by the Southern District Court of Miami.
The court sentenced him to 27 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to election conspiracy and tax evasion charges. He was also ordered to pay $1.2 million in fines.
Jimenez started serving his sentence on Jan. 5, 2004, as approved by the Miami court, which gave consideration for the Christmas holidays and his birthday on Dec. 31.
Illegal contributions
US prosecutors had said that Jimenez made illegal contributions of about $41,500 and caused false information to be submitted to the Federal Election Commission. US law forbids foreigners from making contributions to election campaigns.
Jimenez used money from his Miami company and a closely related company to reimburse employees for illegal donations to former US President Bill Clinton and other Democrats.
He moved back to the Philippines after Clinton was caught up in a series of fund-raising scandals.
Jimenez also admitted before the US court that he used a Uruguayan company to funnel $5 million out of the United States.
From 1994 to 1996, Jimenez gave contributions to Clinton, US Senators Edward Kennedy and Robert Torricelli, US Senate candidates Roger Bedford of Alabama and Thomas Strickland of Colorado, and US House candidate Ann Henry of Arkansas.
©2005 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
It would be better to keep Mark Jimenez locked up and throw away the key.
"It would be better to keep Mark Jimenez locked up and throw away the key."
Then he'd have to serve until he could get a Hillary pardon, assuming he could come up with enough cash to buy one.
Can he take Klinton with him?
I had to read that twice to make sure we weren't deporting BJ, darn.
bump
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