Lawyer in briefcase scandal to be sentenced
MIAMI (AP) _ A Venezuelan lawyer sent by President Hugo Chavez’s government to the U.S. as part of the attempted cover-up of a political cash suitcase scandal is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge.
Moises Maionica pleaded guilty earlier this year for his role and testified against another key player in the case. He testified in September that he had been hired by the Venezuelan government so that Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson would not reveal the origin and the destination of a briefcase carrying $800,000. Maionica said the state petroleum company was going to pay him $400,000 for his work.
The arrest of Antonini Wilson last year triggered an international scandal when he was found trying to bring the undeclared cash into Argentina on a government-chartered flight.