SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, (Reuters) – Former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez was sentenced on Wednesday to five years prison in a bribery scandal at the state telecommunications company.
Rodriguez, 71, who governed Costa Rica between 1998 and 2002, was found guilty of receiving $500,000 of a total $14 million paid by French telecommunications equipment maker
Alcatel to Costa Rican officials, prosecutor Criss Gonzalez said.
Rodriguez has maintained his innocence throughout the trial and said he would appeal his conviction.
Several former executives of the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute, which provides telephone service in the Central American nation, have already been convicted of receiving bribes.
Alcatel agreed late last year to pay more than $137 million to settle accusations it violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in making payments to government officials in Costa Rica, Honduras, Taiwan and Malaysia.
