Buenos Aires, 1994
Photo: AFP
Judge loses job for bribing bomb witness
Argentine judge who once handled probe of 1994 Buenos Aires bombing that killed 85 removed from office
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A judicial tribunal removed an Argentine judge from office for bribing a witness and other irregularities in the probe of a 1994 bombing
of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center.
The panel of judges found that during his investigation of the attack, Judge Juan Jose Galeano paid USD 400,000 to a key witness in exchange for testimony needed to move forward the long-stalled investigation.
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The blast killed 85 people, wounded more than 200 and leveled the seven-story building of the Argentine
Israeli Mutual Aid Association.
Galeano was removed from the investigation two years ago amid charges he mishandled a probe plagued by allegations of lost evidence and other irregularities.
Removal hailed
Victims' groups that led the call for his removal hailed the decision.
"We have just gotten rid of the biggest reason the case has dragged on for more than 10 years," said
Laura Ginsburg, a lawyer representing some families of the victims.
The bombing case remains unsolved. In September, five former police officers who had been accused of
supplying the vehicle used in the bombing were acquitted.
U.S. officials have blamed the bombing on pro-Iranian Islamic militants, charges Tehran has denied.
The attack was one of two targeting Argentina's Jewish community during the 1990s. A March 1992 blast at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires killed 29 people. That case also remains unsolved.
Argentina is home to Latin America's largest Jewish community and the seventh largest in the world.
