Authorities in Jalisco have detained the former secretary of education for embezzling US $1.5 million in connection with the purchase of a property in the United States.
Police arrested Antonio Gloria Morales for alleged acts of corruption committed during his time in office from 2010-2013.
Gloria oversaw the purchase of property for Casa Jalisco Chicago, which was intended to strengthen ties between Jalisco and the United States Midwest, where an estimated 700,000 people originally from Jalisco were living at the time.
The property was purchased for $3.5 million but an investigation later found that the real cost of the building was only $1.5 million.
The state attorney general’s office said police arrested Gloria after he was seen in the Ciudad del Sol neighborhood of Zapopan.
Casa Jalisco was purchased during the administration of governor Emilio González Márquez, for whom Gloria first served as a personal secretary. Gloria is also past president of the National Action Party in the state.
The warrant for Gloria’s arrest was issued by a judge during the term of the last governor, Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval, but he froze the warrant and tried to sell the property.
His successor, Enrique Alfaro RamÃrez, suspended the sale and reactivated the warrant for Gloria’s arrest soon after taking office.
Alfaro reopened Casa Jalisco in June.
Source: Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp)
