ACP Marco Vidal: Investigation into John Saldivar is Ongoing

John Saldivar

Assistant Commissioner of Police Marco Vidal has been tapped as lead investigator into a criminal probe involving former Minister of National Security John Saldivar.  The Belmopan Area Representative resigned from Cabinet on February thirteenth, amid a scandal in which he initially denied accepting monies from incarcerated Armenian/American fraudster Lev Dermen in 2013.  While he is no longer a member of Cabinet and thus holds no ministerial portfolio, Saldivar is not off the hook just yet as he is being investigated to see whether any laws were broken during the transaction of large sums of money on a monthly basis.  According to ACP Vidal, the scope of the investigation is rather broad.

Marco Vidal

ACP Marco Vidal, Lead Investigator

“I can say that the operation is well underway, we are doing a number of things and the scope of the investigation of course is to determine if a crime was committed and what type of crime was committed by the minister.  Our investigation is broad, is wide and we will ensure that any person who is associated and there is something linking him in a criminal activity then we are investigating all of those.  So it’s not limited or there aren’t any parameters set that this is the confines of what we investigate.  As I said, it is broad and we will pursue every angle that we have to follow.”

Reporter

“How important is it for you as the lead investigator for the public to have confidence that you’ve pursued every single angle in this issue?”

ACP Marco Vidal

“Well, like every investigation this investigation requires a bit more work because it’s a different level of investigation.  But as I have said, from the onset we have done a number of things already.  But in due time, the commissioner will determine when a proper briefing will be given to the media and the public, but we are not in any way trying to circumvent anything or trying to let the media and the public don’t know.  It’s just that once the commissioner has been given the directive that we can bring out certain things then we will, but as you all know the matter is not being tried in public, it has to be tried in court for us to get a conviction.  So we don’t want to jeopardize or compromise the investigation in any way, but as I said it is well underway and there’s a number of things are being done.”