In a coordinated operation carried out on Thursday morning, judicial authorities seized the mobile phone of federal judge Marcelo Bailaque, as well as those of five other high-ranking officials, in the context of an investigation into money laundering.
Agents from the Gendarmerie, together with representatives from Procelac (Prosecutor's Office for Economic Crime and Money Laundering), conducted searches at AFIP-Customs offices in Santa Fe and Rosario, as well as at the Customs-Hydrovía and in a legal accounting firm.
Bailaque is being investigated for allegedly favoring Esteban "Lindor" Alvarado, an accusation he denies. In 2013, the judge dismissed a request for telephone taps on Alvarado's group, which had already been linked to drug trafficking by federal prosecutors.
Additionally, there are rumors about accountant Gabriel Mizzau, who supposedly handled the judge's personal finances; his son, Sebastián, worked in the court.
The case that prompted the raids is related to tax evasion, smuggling, and extortion of entrepreneurs. Among the officials whose cell phones were seized is Carlos Andrés Vaudagna, from the Santa Fe Regional Directorate (SDG OPII) of the Revenue and Customs Control Agency.
Vaudagna had received probation in 2022 in a parallel case linked to the investigation of the firm Vicentín. Other officials whose phones were seized include Fernando Duncan Amante, Luciano Martín Giunta, and Pablo Andrés Allegri, also from the Rosario Regional Directorate (SDG OPII) of the Revenue and Customs Control Agency.
Allegri, former vice president of the club Newell's Old Boys, resigned from his position in the middle of this year. Likewise, the cell phones of Román Darío Scattolon, from the General Customs Hydrovía Directorate; Omar Albano Rizzo, accountant and lawyer; and Bailaque's secretary, Gustavo Guazzaroni, were also seized.
The judicial procedures on Thursday were requested by prosecutor Juan Argibay Molina (Procelac) and the Rosario Unit of the Federal Prosecutor's Office, with the participation of Matías Scilabra and Federico Reynares Solari.
