A retired army commander was sentenced to six years in prison for mishandling a contract between the Colombian military and a U.S. communication company, reported local media Tuesday.
According to reports, former leader of the army’s 3rd Division, Horacio Ruiz Rafael Navarro, signed in a contract worth $876,000 in 1994 with a U.S company for communication equipment to be used by the military.
The equipment was shipped from the U.S but arrived defective and was stored in a factory in the northwestern department of Cundinamarca.
The court found that Navarro was not authorized to sign the contract and that when he and other military officials discovered the equipment malfunctioned they failed to notify the proper authorities.
The court also sentenced former colonels Luis Alberto Guerrero, Maria Estela Calderon and Jose Gustavo Romero to ten years behind bars for their role in the affair.
The commander and colonels were acquitted of the charges of misappropriation of funds.
