Luis Patti
Encyclopedia
Luis Abelardo Patti is an Argentine
politician and a former senior police officer, accused of involvement in torture and murder during the 1970s. He is leader of the conservative Federalist Union Party.
Patti was born in Baigorria, Buenos Aires Province
and as a child worked in a bakery. He entered Policía Bonaerense's police school at 16 years old and was first stationed to the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires
around Pilar
and Escobar Partido
. Accusations against him date back to his early years in the force, a period of political instability and tough police action against guerilla, dissident and other activities. In 1973, he was accused in a local newspaper of killing three youths wrongly believed to have committed a crime. Patti was tried for the torture of a prisoner in 1976, but the trial was suspended and not resumed before the time limit. In 1983 he faced two further trials, including for the kidnapping and murder of Osvaldo Cambiasso and Eduardo Pereyra Rossi. Again both trials were suspended. He rose through the ranks to become a police inspector and commisar and was decorated. In 1990 he faced accusations of torturing two alleged thieves with electricity.
In 1991 Patti was appointed by President
Carlos Menem
to lead the high-profile investigation into the murder of a young woman, María Soledad Morales, in Catamarca Province
. He concluded it was a crime of passion, amid further allegations of the use of torture with suspects, but some years later the son of a politician with influential friends was convicted of the murder after a separate investigation.
. He wrote a column in the La Prensa
newspaper and was appointed Intervenor of the Central Market by the government.
Despite the accusations against him and graffiti around the area, Patti was elected Mayor of Escobar in 1995 with 73% of the vote.
In 1999 Patti launched a new party, Unidad Bonaerense, now called Partido Unidad Federalista (PA.U.FE). He was re-elected in Escobar that same year and stood to be Governor of Buenos Aires province.
In 2005 Patti stood to be deputy in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
on the same ticket as Hilda González de Duhalde, candidate for the Senate, and was elected. However he was prevented from taking his seat because of the allegations against him, following a vote of the existing deputies. His replacement Dante Camaño, formerly a supporter of Duhalde's faction (opposed to president Kirchner), turned over to favour the presidential faction.
.
In addition to the fact that he has been convicted today April 14, 2010 to life imprisonment to be served in a regular prison facility, Patti has admitted having a role in torture, albeit whilst justifying his acts. Legislators from ARI, with government support, are attempting to change Argentine law to prevent those accused of involvement from torture from taking public positions, a move which is highly accepted.
In 2008, while Patti's actions during the 1970s were still under formal investigation, the Supreme Court of Argentina
ruled against the decision of the Chamber of Deputies
, saying that he should be allowed to take his seat in Congress. This caused controversy with the Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernández
saying that there was a "conflict of powers" between the legislative and the judicial branches of government.
Since then, public prosecutors haven’t found any prove to support the hypothesis of a genuine abduction (telephone hearings implemented to track possible calls from the kidnappers indicated that Gerez himself, his concubine and political comrades maybe responsible), and consequently they have followed the theory of self-kidnapping http://www.jorgelanata.com.ar/documentos/editoriales/28-01-07-Habra%20mas%20penas%20y%20olvidos-017-ppol.pdfhttp://www.lanacion.com.ar/Archivo/nota.asp?nota_id=879363. At the moment, prosecutors are undergoing fierce harassment by pro-governmental law-makers who are demanding them to shift their suspicions into another direction, namely Patti http://www.diariohoy.net/notas/verNoticia.phtml/html/268507224/. Gerez, who has recently been given an office in the Buenos Aires province legislature, has recognized that it's possible to cast doubt on his abduction. “Thirty years where necessary to acknowledge that there was genocide in Argentina. People will need time to understand my abduction”, he said http://www.infobae.com/contenidos/303442-100799-0-Gerez-dice-que-se-puede-dudar-su-secuestro.
Gerez had received threats since his testimony on 20 April. Gerez's disappearance was interpreted by the government as a message from groups who resent the re-opening of cases against Dirty War
criminals, following the disappearance of Jorge Julio López, a witness of the Miguel Etchecolatz
trial who is missing since September 2006. Two others who testified in Congress against Patti, Orlando Ubiedo and Hugo Esteban Jaime, had received threats during November and December 2006.
Patti himself denied any involvement in the threats and the kidnapping of Gerez, and claimed not to remember if Gerez had been arrested under his custody because "it was 30 years ago". He accused others of making political use of the disappearance.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
politician and a former senior police officer, accused of involvement in torture and murder during the 1970s. He is leader of the conservative Federalist Union Party.
Patti was born in Baigorria, Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
and as a child worked in a bakery. He entered Policía Bonaerense's police school at 16 years old and was first stationed to the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
around Pilar
Pilar, Buenos Aires
Pilar is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It has a population of more than 226,000 inhabitants as per the . Pilar is part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban conurbation and is the head of the administrative division of Pilar Partido...
and Escobar Partido
Escobar Partido
Escobar Partido is a partido situated in the northern part of the Gran Buenos Aires urban area, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 178,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Belén de Escobar, which is located from Buenos...
. Accusations against him date back to his early years in the force, a period of political instability and tough police action against guerilla, dissident and other activities. In 1973, he was accused in a local newspaper of killing three youths wrongly believed to have committed a crime. Patti was tried for the torture of a prisoner in 1976, but the trial was suspended and not resumed before the time limit. In 1983 he faced two further trials, including for the kidnapping and murder of Osvaldo Cambiasso and Eduardo Pereyra Rossi. Again both trials were suspended. He rose through the ranks to become a police inspector and commisar and was decorated. In 1990 he faced accusations of torturing two alleged thieves with electricity.
In 1991 Patti was appointed by President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
to lead the high-profile investigation into the murder of a young woman, María Soledad Morales, in Catamarca Province
Catamarca Province
Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...
. He concluded it was a crime of passion, amid further allegations of the use of torture with suspects, but some years later the son of a politician with influential friends was convicted of the murder after a separate investigation.
Political career
In 1993, Patti left the police and joined the Justicialist PartyJusticialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
. He wrote a column in the La Prensa
La Prensa (Buenos Aires)
La Prensa is an Argentine daily newspaper.Based in Buenos Aires, it was founded on 18 October 1869 by José C. Paz. La Prensa ranked among the most widely circulated dailies in Argentina in subsequent decades, earning a reputation for conservatism and support for British interests in Argentina...
newspaper and was appointed Intervenor of the Central Market by the government.
Despite the accusations against him and graffiti around the area, Patti was elected Mayor of Escobar in 1995 with 73% of the vote.
In 1999 Patti launched a new party, Unidad Bonaerense, now called Partido Unidad Federalista (PA.U.FE). He was re-elected in Escobar that same year and stood to be Governor of Buenos Aires province.
In 2005 Patti stood to be deputy in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
on the same ticket as Hilda González de Duhalde, candidate for the Senate, and was elected. However he was prevented from taking his seat because of the allegations against him, following a vote of the existing deputies. His replacement Dante Camaño, formerly a supporter of Duhalde's faction (opposed to president Kirchner), turned over to favour the presidential faction.
.
In addition to the fact that he has been convicted today April 14, 2010 to life imprisonment to be served in a regular prison facility, Patti has admitted having a role in torture, albeit whilst justifying his acts. Legislators from ARI, with government support, are attempting to change Argentine law to prevent those accused of involvement from torture from taking public positions, a move which is highly accepted.
In 2008, while Patti's actions during the 1970s were still under formal investigation, the Supreme Court of Argentina
Supreme Court of Argentina
The Supreme Court of Argentina is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. However, during much of the 20th century, the Court and, in general, the Argentine judicial system, has lacked autonomy from the executive power...
ruled against the decision of the Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
, saying that he should be allowed to take his seat in Congress. This caused controversy with the Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernández
Alberto Fernández
Alberto Ángel Fernández is an Argentine politician. He was the Chief of Cabinet of Argentina during Néstor Kirchner presidency, and part of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's. He resigned on July 23, 2008....
saying that there was a "conflict of powers" between the legislative and the judicial branches of government.
Threats against witnesses and Gerez's dubious abduction
On the night of 27 December 2006, Luis Gerez, a Peronist workers' activist who had testified before Congress that Patti was in charge of torture sessions he endured in 1972, was supposedly kidnapped, and re-appeared two days later, immediately after a televised presidential speech on the subject, and purportedly bearing signs of forced restraint and torture (which were in no way evident during his press conference, and not shown any later)http://www.terra.com.ar/canales/politica/152/152294.html.Since then, public prosecutors haven’t found any prove to support the hypothesis of a genuine abduction (telephone hearings implemented to track possible calls from the kidnappers indicated that Gerez himself, his concubine and political comrades maybe responsible), and consequently they have followed the theory of self-kidnapping http://www.jorgelanata.com.ar/documentos/editoriales/28-01-07-Habra%20mas%20penas%20y%20olvidos-017-ppol.pdfhttp://www.lanacion.com.ar/Archivo/nota.asp?nota_id=879363. At the moment, prosecutors are undergoing fierce harassment by pro-governmental law-makers who are demanding them to shift their suspicions into another direction, namely Patti http://www.diariohoy.net/notas/verNoticia.phtml/html/268507224/. Gerez, who has recently been given an office in the Buenos Aires province legislature, has recognized that it's possible to cast doubt on his abduction. “Thirty years where necessary to acknowledge that there was genocide in Argentina. People will need time to understand my abduction”, he said http://www.infobae.com/contenidos/303442-100799-0-Gerez-dice-que-se-puede-dudar-su-secuestro.
Gerez had received threats since his testimony on 20 April. Gerez's disappearance was interpreted by the government as a message from groups who resent the re-opening of cases against Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
criminals, following the disappearance of Jorge Julio López, a witness of the Miguel Etchecolatz
Miguel Etchecolatz
Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz is a former senior Argentine police officer, who worked in the Buenos Aires Provincial Police during the first years of the military dictatorship. Etchecolatz was an active participant in the "anti-subversion operation" known as the National Reorganization Process...
trial who is missing since September 2006. Two others who testified in Congress against Patti, Orlando Ubiedo and Hugo Esteban Jaime, had received threats during November and December 2006.
Patti himself denied any involvement in the threats and the kidnapping of Gerez, and claimed not to remember if Gerez had been arrested under his custody because "it was 30 years ago". He accused others of making political use of the disappearance.
External links
- Las lecciones del caso Gerez - Rebrotes, por Horacio VerbitskyHoracio VerbitskyHoracio Verbitsky is a prominent Argentine investigative journalist and author. He writes for the left-leaning Argentine newspaper Página/12 and heads up the Center for Legal and Social Studies , an Argentine human-rights organization.He is also a member of the Directive Board of Human Rights...
in Página/12Página/12Página/12 is a newspaper based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Página/12 was founded on May 25, 1987, by journalist Jorge Lanata in association with writer Osvaldo Soriano and investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky...
, December 31, 2006 (French transl. here) - Official website
- Terra profile
- Allegations of torture and murder (PDF)