Thursday 01 November 2012 | QNews Central America
Costa Rica’s government today sent a new diplomatic note of protest to Nicaragua, prompted by reports indicating the presence of a fence built supposedly by Nicaraguans on the Calero Island, two years after the conflict was determined disputed island to be bilateral.

Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Roverssi reported today and told reporters that authorities detected the existence of a fence built on Costa Rican soil apparently by members of the Sandinista youth over a week ago.

That report is documented with photographs submitted to the International Court of Justice, which came to Costa Rica in December 2011 to report on the invasion of Nicaragua in the Caribbean side of the border area.

According to reports of the officers in the is a barbed wire fence three threads per 1, 50 meters high by 90 meters long which is unfinished.

Editor:  Most of the comments regarding this event posted in La Nación were “ Just another attempt to take our minds off the high price of gasoline and high interest rates.” The Ticos are seemingly not impressed.

Thursday 01 November 2012 | QNews

You can’t see ’em, your can’t smell ’em (most of the time) but those tiny particles emitted by burning diesel and fuel oil (bunker) are all around us here in the metropolitan area of the Central Valley.

We’re talking about airborne particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. But at four of five points in the valley monitored during 2011, the air exceeds acceptable international concentration of the little devils.

Those permissible levels are 10 to 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air, according to Jorge Herrera, director of the Environmental Analysis Laboratory of the National University (UNA).

The UNA researchers carried out the study in cooperation with the Environmental Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Public Works Ministry and the San Jose Municipality.

Their findings are scary: two points measured are twice the acceptable level. They are La Asuncion de Belen at 31 micrograms per cubic meter and 30 at downtown Heredia.

Downtown San Jose near the municipal building and La Uruca district weren’t much better. The only acceptable levels were found in Moravia.

Nor is this one of those stories concocted just to keep journalists busy so they won’t be vagrants. High levels of those particles have been linked with heart attacks, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis.

And the bad news doesn’t end there — researchers found high levels of 10 micrometers generated by dust returning to the air, kicked up by traffic. This type of pollution is often found in mines.

To reduce the contamination, Herrera says that more aggressive efforts should be made to reduce traffic congestion of idling vehicles caught in traffic jams and reduce mass transit emissions.

Environmental Minister Rene Castro feels efforts should be made to reduce dependence on bunker fuels for manufacturing. He suggests liquid natural gas.

While Castro would target the amount of sulfur contained in diesel, the Transport Ministry planning director, Ronald Flores has a better idea: railways for mass transit but using electric locomotives and buying hybrid buses from Japan, Korea or China.

Commentary: Electric buses, used by some European cities, might seem a better idea. Railways to replace privately owned bus lines isn’t practical due to the initial investment.

On a personal note, this reporter’s family has been agitating to get him to stop smoking for years. I’ll make ya a deal: I’ll quit smoking when the buses do.

Source: Fijatevos.com

Thursday 01 November 2012 | QNews Costa Rica

Judicial police found in 2010 that an employee at the Alajuela Criminal Court was allegedly informing a “friend” of the status of an investigation for his alleged involvement with a car theft ring known as Los Gallos.

But it has taken two years to reach a point of her dismissal, although she appears to have been transfered to a less sensitive section of the court, according to a report in the national newspaper La Nacion.

Last Oct. 2, a court panel agreed to fire her, but now the Ministry of Labor is reviewing her case before the last connection with her job is severed. In delicate words, the internal court tribunal found she “does not merit the confidence placed in her.”

Judicial police, intercepting the phone of the car theft suspect, named Leiton,” logged 16 daily calls in which the woman, named Leon, kept the suspect up to the minute with reports about the probe into his activities.

The tribunal called her private life “incorrect” in that she “maintained connections with a person of doubtful reputation.” In fact, they say she went so far as to intercede with a prosecutor to try to convince him to return a car the detectives had confiscated from Leiton

Leon had been employed by the court for 16 years, which may account for the reluctance to present charges immediately. Court investigators said Leon provided Leiton “confidential data regarding the investigation.”

This forced investigators into the car theft ring to “implement a series of measures to protect the investigation.” But Leon threw a monkey wrench into the works by appealing to the Labor Ministry.

The Labor Relations Commission recommends that the case be shelved, claiming that she was pregnant and that the labor statutes prohibit her dismissal from work.os Gallos.

But it has taken two years to reach a point of her dismissal, although she appears to have been transfered to a less sensitive section of the court, according to a report in the national newspaper La Nacion.

Last Oct. 2, a court panel agreed to fire her, but now the Ministry of Labor is reviewing her case before the last connection with her job is severed. In delicate words, the internal court tribunal found she “does not merit the confidence placed in her.”

Judicial police, intercepting the phone of the car theft suspect, named Leiton,” logged 16 daily calls in which the woman, named Leon, kept the suspect up to the minute with reports about the probe into his activities.

The tribunal called her private life “incorrect” in that she “maintained connections with a person of doubtful reputation.” In fact, they say she went so far as to intercede with a prosecutor to try to convince him to return a car the detectives had confiscated from Leiton

Leon had been employed by the court for 16 years, which may account for the reluctance to present charges immediately. Court investigators said Leon provided Leiton “confidential data regarding the investigation.”

This forced investigators into the car theft ring to “implement a series of measures to protect the investigation.” But Leon threw a monkey wrench into the works by appealing to the Labor Ministry.

The Labor Relations Commission recommends that the case be shelved, claiming that she was pregnant and that the labor statutes prohibit her dismissal from work.

Source: Fijatevos.com

Thursday 01 November 2012 | QNews Central America

President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, reaffirmed today the conviction that Russian firms will take part actively in the construction of an interoceanic canal linking the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans through his country. “We are certain that firms from Russia will be involved in the great work of the canal through Nicaragua,” he said in a TV broadcast interview released here.

Ortega told Russia Today TV channel that firms from the People’s Republic of China and other nations, grouped in a firm created in Hong Kong that is already operating, are involved in the project.

He said that with the return to power of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, Nicaragua established from 2007 a longstanding relation with the Russian Federation, which has undoubtedly mean a great relief for Nicaragua because this is a cooperation that values the Nicaraguan people in all fields.

Tuesday 30 October 2012 | QNews

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – The Frenchman who sparked a global health scare by selling substandard breast implants has been released from jail under court supervision pending a trial next year, a judicial source said on Friday.

Jean-Claude Mas, who faces charges of causing involuntary bodily harm and aggravated fraud, spent eight months in prison after he failed to post bail.

Mas has spent considerable time in Costa Rica avoiding Interpol arrest and has had business dealings in this country.
Mas, 73, was released from a penitentiary in southeastern France on condition that he remained within the Var and Bouches-du-Rhone regions and checked in once a week at the police station in his home town.

[quote type=”large” align=”left”]QNOTE: Costa Rica has pushed the PIP implant issue behind a stack of musty old books in order to ignore that locals and medical tourists were knowingly given inferior breast implants. Private physicians declared they would not replace the PIP industrial silicone implants free of charge and the CAJA said they will remove implants but not replace them with acceptable quality ones. That needs to be done by private practitioners. [/quote]

The former head of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) has admitted using a non-medical form of silicone in implants but rejects allegations that the gel was more dangerous than forms which have passed testing.

In the first part of what is expected to be a multi-stage trial, Mas will appear in Marseille next year on charges of fraud in a special facility that seats between 4,000 and 10,000 people. Some 4,500 complaints of aggravated fraud have been filed against Mas.
Half a dozen senior PIP executives will also stand trial over their responsibility for producing faulty breast implants. If found guilty, they face maximum prison sentences of five years and hefty fines.

The bodily harm charge carries a possible jail sentence of one year plus a fine.

A lawyer for women in France who have filed complaints over PIP implants said he was not surprised at Mas’s release.
“For the victims, we are satisfied that judges in Marseille kept Jean-Claude Mas in custody for as long as the law permitted,” Laurent Gaudet said. “Today, we’re worried that Mr. Mas will not appear for his trial.”

Some 300,000 women around the world carry implants made by PIP, which was founded in 1991 and went into liquidation in 2010.

(Reporting By Jean-Francois Rosnoblet; Writing by Nick Vinocur; Editing by Robert Woodward)

Tuesday 30 October 2012 | QCosta Rica

In mid-November the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) will launch the annual campaign of collecting the Marchamo, the annual vehicular circulation permit.

The INS has yet to announce if there will be an increase this year as it continues waiting the decision of the  Superintendencia General de Seguros (SUGESE) which is still analyzing the request for a rate increase.

The 2013 Marchamo is due payable by December 31 of each year and unlike in the past decade, there is no grace period as come January 1 drivers on the road without the current Marchamo are subject to a fine.

Interesing that some 51.036 vehicle owners have yet to pay the 2012 Marchamo, of which 21.763 are passenger vehicles, 5.860 light commerical (pick up trucks), 1.964 heavy load vehicles, 19.619 motorcycles, 655 buses and 323 taxis.

The number of unpaid includes vehicles that are no longer in circulation, a result of an accident or repairs are too costly as compared to the value of the vehicle, and have never been unregistered with the national registry. These vehicles continue to pile up the cost of the yearly Marchamo, plus costs like fines and interest and will have to be paid if and when the vehicle is ever made road-worthy.

The annual Marchamo can be paid at more than 1.200 points of sale that includes banks, authorized INS insurace agents and the INS directly. The Marchamo can also be paid online.

Tuesday 30 October 2012 | QNews Costa Rica

Hundreds headed for the Northeast coast of the United States have been stranded in Costa Rica since Sunday as all flights to New York and New Jersey have been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.

American Airlines and United/Continental with direct flights to and from New York (Newark in the case of United) hope to restore service by Wednesday, but that will depend on the weather.

Others airlines, like Delta for instance, with with connections to New York have asked their passengers to stay put in Costa Rica until the weather improves and flight operations in New York resume. Some have opted to wait out the storm in the Miami or Atlanta, for instance, while many others have extended their Costa Rica vacations.

Flights to Costa Rica from the New York area have been affected.

In Costa Rica, the first days of Hurricane Sandy brought heavy rains in the Central Valley and the Pacific coast, a common occurrence when South Atlantic storms cause torrential rains in Costa Rica’s Pacific.

Tuesday 30 October 2012 | QNews Costa Rica

Public employees’ job performance is evaluated each year and the workers treated with a bonus for excellence, but Labor Minister Sandra Piszk doesn’t think the system has ever worked properly.

A rough draft of a reform bill was presented to lawmakers this month and has already resulted in a teachers’ strike last week. Piszk believes it is because employees have come to regard annual bonuses as a right separate from their work performance.

The teachers’ unions consider the bill as a challenge to their power and undoubtedly, other public employees unions will follow with pressures. Piszk herself doesn’t look for passage soon and feels it might take several terms to hammer out.

Recently, Civil Service has put into practice a reform to the evaluations, Piszk told the national newspaper La Nacion, but she doesn’t believe that the changes go far enough.

Piszk made a point to differentiate between being given an annual bonus as an “acquired right” and “earning it.” Thus the bonuses have been a drain on government budgets without producing excellence.

“It’s no kind of an incentive for a good official,” she reasons, “if they know they’re going to get the same pay as everyone else.” They know that they’ll get the same amount as those who aren’t producing, she said.

Even worse than this is the disparity of bonuses. The Central government employees get 1.94% to 2.5% while other agencies get 5% to 5.5% and even up to 7%, she said.

Asked whether now was the best time to present such a change, Piszk snorted that the situation has gone on for decades misfiring.

Commentary: One must compliment Piszk and her Chinchilla Administration colleagues for courage in tackling the subject, even though they are closer to the end of their term of office.

Unions hold grudges a long time and a struggle is pending. Beatriz Ferreto, head of the high school teacher’s union (APSE) has promised “the mother of all strikes” over the bill.

The Administration is talking about efficiency of government workers, but there is no doubt that they are also preoccupied with the budget deficit that has caused the country to borrow heavily.

A huge proportion of government budgets are eaten up in salaries and perks. We have seen through the years government workers letting their duties slide while filing their nails. This rankles private employees who must work for their pay or suffer dire consequences.

But Piszk is bucking the Costa Rican culture. One of the reasons so-so workers get by with so much is that their bosses have a tendency to rubber stamp their evaluations in order to “no se caiga mal con nadie.” (So as not to get on anyone’s bad side.)

Not only are teachers coddled, other agency employees are treated like spoiled pets as well. The Social Security system (Caja) is a prime example of this and it pushed the body that runs public hospitals and clinics to the brink.

Costa Rica can no longer afford bloated payrolls and public workers coasting along at half speed. The current system of bonuses is not even a decent bribe for workers to take pride in work well done.

It is a saddle on the taxpayers’ backs.

Source: Fijateovs.com

Tuesday 30 October 2012 | QNews Costa Rica  | Traffic Law Costa Rica

The introduction of the new traffic law last Friday and the inability of transport officials to be ready for the changes forced the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) to suspend its drivers license service to at least Wednesday.

The BCR service offers drivers the option to make an appointment and process their license renewal at select brances, eliminating the long lines that are normal at the licensing offices.

The bank said it had suspend the service for the break in connection to the Dirección de Educación Vial and Cosevi database.

The Cosevi has been making changes to its infrastructure to comply with the new traffic law.

A BCR official who spoke to QCosta Rica said the service is expected to resume on Wednesday, but it could be several days when the bank will be able to connect to the Cosevi.

Tuesday 30 October 2012 | QNews Costa Rica

Foreign investment in Costa Rica, fell by 5% during the first half of the year compared with the same period of 2011. The drop goes against the trend set in Latin America, a region reported an average increase of 8%, according to figures from Economic Commission for Latin America.

This means that the options for new jobs in the country tend to slow down, especially in the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors, which have the lowest rates of investment. Conversely, where there are more options is in the telecom industry.

During the first half of this year, the companies in this area generated investments of $ 310 million, about the same as the entire previous year. The arrival of companies dedicated to telephony, Internet and networking, is what has kept the industry dynamic. In Costa Rica they have found business opportunities, some services are marketed directly to consumers, while others do so with on a wholesale basis to telecom companies.

“The idea is to extend the offer for SMEs also have access to technology,” said Moises Quintana, product manager for the region of Radvision, a firm dedicated to teleconferencing facilities, during the launch of its operations in the country. The second largest sector in the country is manufacturing, which remains one of the large employers.

Source: La Republica

Saturday 27 October 2012 | QNews Central America

(Prensa Latina) The Nicaraguan Army captured another shipment of drugs, money and fuel in the last hours, in an operation against drug trafficking in territorial waters of Nicaragua in the Caribbean, said the Navy Friday. Even the counting of the confiscated shipment had not been concluded, when Rear Admiral Marvin Elias Corrales Rodriguez said in advance it was an important amount of drug that was intercepted 20 miles southeast from the southern city of Bluefields.

The operation is framed in the national strategy to contain drug trafficking, and in this case, 60 sacks of cocaine, a sack of marijuana, 15 barrels of fuel, an undetermined amount of money and three crew members were occupied, and the crew members arrested.

The arrested men respond to the names of Cesar Marbol Suazo, Raul Adonis Casildo and Jose Balladares.

Saturday 27 October 2012  | QNews Central America

(Prensa Latina) The Broad Front (FA) and the Chamber of Commerce of Colon stated today that the only solution to the crisis that paralyzed the Panamanian province is the repeal of the Law on land sales of Free Zone (ZLC). Edgardo Voitier and Anacleto Ceballos, leaders of both institutions that are leading protests against the legislation, said that the Twitter account is not the Official Gazette or the way to run a country, during a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce with mediator Bishop Aguilar Audilio.

Colon entered its seventh day today in protests and total paralysis of activities, in a very busy day because concentrations are held early in many parts of the city that remains militarized and prepares the funeral of child Joshua Betancourt, first fatality of the conflict .

Frank de Lima, Minister of Economy and Finance, stated that Voitier and Ceballos will try for the third consecutive time to begin a dialogue with the so-called active forces and will move back to Colon, but with the same script of previous attempts.

Balbina Herrera, of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, said he will remain being null because people do not want to offer him anything very helpful enough, but finishing to remove Law 72 allowing the sale of the ZLC.

Saturday 27 October 2012  | QNews Costa Rica | Source: Traffic Law Costa Rica

Costa Rica has a new traffic law that aims to correct the problems of the 2008 law and aims to reduce carnage on the country’s roads, there are a couple of points that are EXTREMELY important to foreigners living and/or visiting Costa Rica.
Foreigners living (called expats)  and visitors alike can drive in Costa Rica for the duration of their “legal” stay with a license issued by their home country.

Lack of Decree Suspends Fines For Vehicle Restrictions Of San José

North Americans (residents of the US and Canada, not including Mexico), Europeans and many other countries have a legal stay (visitor) of up to three months, all other countries, 30 days.

In the old days it was recommended that a foreigners overstaying his or her visitors status obtain a Costa Rican driver’s license, which simply meant going to the driver’s license office, filling out the forms, passing the required medical exam and paying the fees.

Many foreigners – other than short term visitors – couldn’t be bothered with the process. In effect it was never a problem. Until now.

The new law requires any foreigners in Costa Rica over 90 days to obtain a Costa Rican license, failing the fine is ¢94.000 and four (4) points – one third the way to a license suspension. Important here is that two more tickets for not having a Costa Rican license will mean a suspension even before the license is obtained.

There’s Got To Be A Better Solution

A hands-free umbrella designed to withstand winds of up to 80 km/h could help battle the heavy rains of Costa Rica’s rainy season, keep one drier than a typical umbrella and free up hands to use a cell phone and even ride a bicycle, though why would anyone want to ride a bicycle in the rain is another thing.

The Nubrella, which resembles a bubble wrapped around the user’s head and shoulders, works by strapping on a shoulder support and extending a canopy around the head.

Inventor Alan Kaufman, 49, from Florida, said: “The major advantage is the wearer doesn’t have to carry anything when not in use as it goes behind the head like a hood.

“The umbrella was long overdue for some innovation, now people can ride their bikes and work outdoors completely hands free while staying protected.

With the umbrella dome you can laugh in the face of mother nature. And all for a US$50 via nubrella.com.

Kaufman said, “Millions of people are required to work outdoors no matter what the conditions are and simply can’t hold an umbrella and perform their tasks.

“We believe this will revolutionize the industry and are targeting people who can’t use an umbrella or are too tired to hold an umbrella.”

Saturday 27 October 2012  | QNews Costa Rica | Source: Costa Rica North

The possible signing of a Free Trade Agreement between Costa Rica and Colombia worries businesses in the manufacturing sector, who argue that contrary to the governments proposes, exports to other nations with which they have such agreements have not increased, while imports have done so.

Added to this, the country has no real agenda that allows adequate performance, which encourages the creation of employment, competitiveness and relations.

This approach is supported by experts who believe that the country has focused on signing trade agreements with other nations and divorced from a policy that encourages the growth and competitiveness of the sectors involved in the economy.

This was confirmed by the economist Luis Paulino Vargas, as part of a series of forums held at the University of Costa Rica on FTAs, where he discussed the approach made by governments in terms of trade, which does not exactly guarantee employment growth and improving living conditions.

These policies, over two or three decades, have not resulted in employment generation and the creation of mechanisms for relationships between large and small producers and entrepreneurs.

On the contrary, there has been a domino effect in which the concentrations of the country’s exports are in the hands of some 20 products developed by the 1.5 % of the country’s businesses.

Vargas warned about the conditions which led to the signing of NAFTA in the country, but especially in the economic model by which governments have wagered that it is for the promotion of treaties with anyone – a buying strategy promising to improve employment and opportunities.

However, in practice what is fulfilled is the policy of overspending and future debt, while unemployment rates increase, and the conditions and quality of work are detrimental.

The press office of the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) assured the university that the objective of the FTA is not solving all the problems of the country, but rather to open more space for Costa Rica’s integration into the world economy.

The figures clearly show that trade grows after the entry into the force of the FTA. The new FTA negotiations have the objective of consolidating, expanding and streamlining the trade platform in the country, which will allow the diversification of exports and integration into global value chains.

Mario Montero, executive vice president of the Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA), is not convinced of this position and ensures that this area is directly affected by the massive influx of products from countries with which Costa Rica has agreements.

“In cases of existing treaties, what we have seen is a significant increase in imports from the effective date, but no growth in exports,” said Montero.

This, based on today’s tariff reduction in an export market is not enough to create exports.

For that reason, the Vice President of CACIA advocates for a policy agenda more focused on developing internal capabilities in improving competitiveness and the local business climate.

The development of this agenda would provide a fundamental tool for existing might be able to take advantage of and make sense. Otherwise, the only thing seen is an opening of the local market without much sense.

This is the feeling that some business sectors have regarding the signing of a free trade agreement with Colombia, which beyond generating positive expectations, leaves a real concern about the conditions of competition in the country to be found.

The press office of COMEX argued that FTAs have helped to diversify the country’s export supply and have put Costa Rica at the forefront of exports per capita in Latin America and has placed in the top of the region and fourth in the world in terms of industrial exports, for high-tech products.

“The growth and export diversification positively affects economic growth and the creation of more and better sources of employment,” he said.

Costa Rica is currently in the third round of negotiations for a free trade agreement with Colombia, which must eventually be approved by the legislature.

To date, the country has nine free trade agreements with various countries and although they have been heavily promoted by the government, as drivers of the economy, the State of the Region has evidence that when approved each NAFTA, trade with the respective nation has declined.

Currently the FTA with Colombia awakens sensitivities between areas that are concerned about inequality in market conditions.

Luis Obando, adviser on foreign trade of the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC), is convinced that Costa Rican and Colombian economies are not complementary, but directly competing, which affects national manufacturers, as the South American nations firms compete with lower costs.

Its costs in raw materials, labor, energy and diversity of energy sources that count, such as coal, natural gas and electricity, give an advantage to the country.

“In addition, these companies enjoy a number of export incentives that do not have our domestic industries. The tariff that applies to Colombian products is a mechanism to protect its industry. This presents us with a difficult scenario to compete,” argued Obando.

In his words, the dismantling of such sensitive products would be a major threat to the development of national industry.

“Only for export to Colombia in 2011, $48.2 million and we import $455.6 million; in fact, many Colombian products entering the market are paying tariffs ranging between 9% and 15%. After adjustment for these taxes, imports from the South American nation will skyrocket,” warned Obando.

In his opinion, the factors affecting the competitiveness of Costa Rican companies regarding Colombian nationals will be key when they have to compete in the local market.

For the COMEX some of the opportunities presented by the Colombian market is having dimensions similar to those of Central America, increased purchasing power and is a net importer in many manufacturing areas.

In addition, imports are less concentrated than exports, which would allow preferential conditions to be exploited and distributed a wide range of products.

“It is an exporter of raw materials that could be of interest from the private sector, which would help to improve the competitiveness of the productive sector in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a more traditional export vocation than Colombia, plus it exports more agricultural products,” claims the COMEX.

“An agreement with Colombia would enable trade, investment and strategic partnerships are governed by stable, clear and transparent rules,” he added.

But, for the Chamber of Industries, FTAs have served as sufficient mechanisms to diversify exports and considers new strategies should be sought in the international market.

“In 2011, 79.1% of exports were concentrated in the United States, Central America and the European Union, and less than 10% with other countries with which we have FTAs, such as Chile, Mexico, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago. No advantage to the FTAs, but it opens our market,” explained Obando.

Saturday 27 October 2012  | QNews Costa Rica | Source: Fijatevos.com

A U.S. Federal judge, John Gibney Jr., Tuesday sentenced Costa Rican businessman Minor Vargas to serve 60 years in prison for fraud and money laundering connected to his company, Provident Capital Indemnity.

Vargas was arrested in January, 2011, and was found guilty this year in the same court, of seven counts of fraud and three of money laundering to hide proceeds from the venture.

The Costa Rican had maintained his innocence up until Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, when he at last admitted he had committed “an error” but still denied intent to defraud.

Since Vargas is 61 years old, the punishment can amount to a life sentence if he is not released from prison before his sentence is complete or if his appeals are denied. (See previous articles.)

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he told the court, “I should not have attempted to rescue the company in that way but I don’t think I should have to pass the rest of my life in prison.”

“I’m a rehabilitated person,” Vargas told the judge, “a good person, a good citizen.” He said he did not merit the severe sentence he received. But it could have been worse, in a manner of speaking. If Vargas had received the maximum for each count, the sentence would have been almost 200 years in jail.

Judge Gibney, however, did not agree that Vargas was a “good person.” Gibney said Vargas should serve as an example for those who would follow a fraudulent path.

‘Perhaps some may not learn from your example,” said Gibney sternly, “but others will. I’m convinced you have no respect for the victims nor are conscious of your crime.”

Provident Capital represented itself as a “reinsurance” investment opportunity for investors in a stagnant economy and a hedge for insurance companies to protect their policies. But it was not either and lost investors millions of dollars.

Gibney said during the hearing that he had contemplated a lesser sentence but decided against it. “Vargas committed a grotesque crime against innocent people,” Gibney said, “If I had freed him, nobody could be sure he would not turn around to do it again.”

Of the estimated 3,500 victims of the PCI scam, 22 showed up to see Vargas sentenced Tuesday. Of these, seven gave statements before the court, three of them tearfully.

Among them was Therese Giger, a Chicago woman who lost half a million dollars in the PCI scam, as well as her husband to cancer, which she claimed was spurred on by his depression after learning of the disappearance of their savings.

“My husband passed his final days blaming himself for having lost our life savings when it is Mr. Vargas who should feel guilty,” she said.

Paula Whitacker of Houston, Texas, lost a million dollars and her only son. She said she had hoped to fund a clinic in his honor after he died but the PCI scam swallowed the legacy.

A Virginia woman, Kimberly Holland, lost her father to cancer while he lamented having lost $600,000 to PCI. “He died without an honorable funeral, not even flowers, because he felt so guilty at my spending money on him. This is something I can never forgive Vargas for,” she said.

She now is caring for her mother who suffers from Alzheimers.

But Vargas was not always a hated name. At one time, he was a big name in local sports, owning 10 pro soccer teams (and their stadiums) in the first and second divisions over the years.

As head of the ultra-successful Saprissa club, he paid himself $5,000 salary in 2001, the first Costa Rican club chief to receive a salary. He explained that he was doing the job full time and had no other income.

But Vargas is not the only national soccer figure to run afoul of the law. On Aug. 30, Carlos Pascall, president of the Limon club, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a San Jose court for money laundering.

The First Division soccer organization, UNAFUT, has vowed to work with the court investigative division, OIJ) and with Interpol to protect investment in Costa Rican clubs. The organization has suffered sharp setbacks financially in the Pascall and Vargas cases.

Vargas says he invested $20 million in local soccer teams. Today, he has no financial interest in any Costa Rican club. Vargas admitted that the money came from the $43 million he cost investors in PCI but represented it as an attempt to help local youth and the sport.

Although defense attorney for Vargas, Jeffrey Everhart said an appeal was possible, it would little benefit the Tico. He despaired of winning an appeal. The national newspaper La Nacion reported that Everhart all but begged the court for clemency.

Update: Under the Strasburg Convention, Vargas has the possibility of serving his sentence in the country of his origin—in other words, a white-collar crime section of a local prison, most probably La Reforma.

But a high official of the Justice Ministry here, Reynaldo Villalobos, said that, knowing the U.S. justice system, that country will be in no hurry to make a transfer. Perhaps if legal counsel for Vargas files a petition later, it may be granted. It would allow his family to visit him more often.

Meanwhile a former auditor for the company, also a Costa Rican, is still awaiting his sentence. a

(Reuters) – Costa Rica’s brewery, the Cerveceria Costa Rica,  struck a deal to buy privately held North American Breweries, which sells Genesee and Labatt beer in the United States, for U$388 million in cash.

KPS Capital Partners, the private equity firm that owns North American Breweries, said in a statement on Friday that it expected the deal to close in the fourth quarter. KPS earned a return of more than 9 times invested capital on the sale, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Cerveceria Costa Rica, a unit of Florida Ice and Farm Co S.A., holds the beer brands Imperial, Pilsen, Bavaria, Rock and Heineken (under license).

NAB’s other brands include Honey Brown Lager, Magic Hat and Pyramid.

Reuters reported last month that the brewer, one of the largest independently owned beer companies in the United States, was up for sale.

KPS formed the company in February 2009 when it bought the Labatt brands in the U.S. for an undisclosed price from Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR).

The brewing giant needed to sell the business in order to receive Justice Department clearance for InBev’s $52 billion takeover of U.S. rival Anheuser-Busch. AB InBev still sells Labatt beer outside of the U.S.

North American Breweries bought the privately held brewer of Genesee and Dundee brands in February 2009. It acquired Independent Brewers United Inc, which owned Magic Hat and Pyramid, in 2010.

The global brewing industry has been rife with deals as the industry leaders, such as AB InBev, SABMiller PLC (SAB.L) and Heineken (HEIN.AS), seek to boost their exposure in emerging markets and take on smaller brands.

Craft, or small batch, beers, such as Magic Hat, have also been a bright spot in a U.S. beer market that has been in decline for three years as many drinkers have switched to wine or cocktails.