in message <
[email protected]>, MagillaGorilla
('
[email protected]') wrote:
> Simon Brooke wrote:
>
>> in message <[email protected]>, MagillaGorilla
>> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>>
>>
>>>http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/aug06/aug30news3
>>>
>>>It should be obvious Basso is going to be fully exonerated. First of
>>>all, this so-called guido "prosecutor" seems to be claiming that Basso
>>>answered all the questions exhaustively to his satisfaction. I've
>>>never heard of a prosecutor making such a broad concession to a
>>>defendant that he is supposed to believe is guilty.
>>
>>
>> It's possible that he knows there isn't nearly enough evidence to
>> mount a 'prosecution'. In fact, seeing he's the prosecutor, it's
>> certain that he knows that. The case against Basso wouldn't stack in
>> any court in any Western democracy.
>>
>> * There is no evidence of any money paid by Basso to Fuentes.
>> * There is no document which Basso has signed, or written on or even
>> handled, linking him to Fuentes.
>> * No products of any kind sold by Fuentes have been found in Basso's
>> possession, or in the possession of his mother in law, or in the
>> possession of his dog.
>> * No blood found in Fuentes possession has been identified as Basso's.
>>
>
>
> How do you know the answers to these questions? Did they do DNA tests -
> did they even bother to get Basso's bank records?
As far as I know, no-one has taken Basso up on his public offer to submit
to a DNA test. Why not? Presumably because they know they don't have any
of his blood. I don't know whether anyone has checked Basso's bank
records, but the Guardia Civil certainly have checked Fuentes - with a
fine tooth comb.
> Of course there's no evidence - they're not looking for any. So they
> won't find any. It's a self-serving conclusion.
They certainly won't find any if there isn't any. And the Spanish Guardia
Civil are not particularly interested in the career of an Italian
cyclist - particularly one who, if he's forced to serve a four year
suspension, will leave a Spaniard as the lead rider for his team.
If the investigation was being carried out by the Italian authorities, or
by the UCI, you might have an argument. But the investigation is being
carried out by the Spanish authorities, so you don't.
> This isn't an aggressive prosecution. It's a publicity stunt. Fuentes
> doesn't even deny it.
Fuentes hasn't claimed that Basso was his customer. No document or phone
tap makes that claim. The Spanish police guessed the identity behind a
code name. They may be right, or they may be wrong. If they're right,
Fuentes might be claiming to other cyclists that Basso was his customer
in order to drum up business. It isn't evidence which would stand up in
any court of law in any western democracy.
--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
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