Augusto Alasino

Augusto Alasino (born 31 May 1947) is a senior Argentine Justicialist Party politician. He is facing allegations of taking bribes whilst a Senator in a high-profile case.

Alasino was born in Maciá, Entre Ríos Province. He graduated as a lawyer and doctor of law from the Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Santa Fe. He joined the Peronists in 1983 and held party positions in his province.

Alasino became a national deputy in 1987 and from 1990 until he left in 1991 he was a vice-president of the lower house of the Argentine National Congress.He was elected Senator for Entre Ríos, starting on 2 December 1992, and later led the Justicialist block in the Senate. He was a staunch ally of President Carlos Menem. His term ended on 9 December 2001.

In April 2000, a major political scandal broke out, involving alleged bribes from the UCR-led government of President of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa to opposition senators, channeled via the SIDE state intelligence agency, to support a labour law reform package. Alasino was forced to step down from the leadership of the block in September, but denied the allegations, and retired normally in 2001. In 2003, Mario Pontaquarto, a former official at the National Congress, told the press and then to Justice that he had participated in the bribes, following orders by Alasino and then-UCR block leader, Senator José Genoud. As of 2006, investigations continue.

References

* [http://www.senado.gov.ar Honorable Senado de la Nación] (Argentine Senate official website).
* Press Reference. [http://www.pressreference.com/A-Be/Argentina.html ARGENTINA Press, Media, TV, Radio, Newspapers.]
* Pravda. 15 December 2003. [http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/11539_Argentina.html Corruption Scandal in Argentine Senate.]
* Committee to Protect Journalists. [http://www.cpj.org/attacks00/americas00/Argentina.html The Americas 2000 - Argentina.]