Top Prosecutor to Stand for Another Term
by Rod Hughes
Costa Rica’s number one prosecutor, the equivalent of the U.S. Attorney General, announced this week that he will try for another four-year term of office. Francisco Dall’Anese already has made his place in Costa Rican history as the man who indicted two expresidents, Rafael Angel Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez, for allegedly taking bribes.
Dall’Anese tried for the post of judge two years ago, but the court vetoed his attempt, possubly due to his prosecution of two Social Christian Unity presidents. The Costa Rican Supreme Court is self-contained, neither submitting candidates for judge to balloting by the electorate nor the top spots by Executive Branch appointment over seen by congress, as is done in the United States.
Instead, the full roster of judges votes on candidates for the top prosecutor post. Dall’Anese is placing his confidence in going after organized crime this time. He feels that this should be the top priority for the next four years, as well as strnegthening the police agencies in the country.
As for the pending cases against the two expresidents, he feels he should not base his candidature on just two high profile cases, he told the daily Al Dia. But certainly these two cases alone focused not only the attention of a nation but of the world on the nation’s top prosecuting attorney.