Hilario Ramírez Villanueva, better known as Layín -the former mayor who acknowledged “stealing a little” from the San Blas city council, was sentenced to two years in prison by the Nayarit justice, after proving his responsibility in the improper exercise of functions.
The sentence was given in relation to the sale of an airport in the town that he governed, with which more than $12 million pesos (roughly a quarter million dollars) were diverted that did not reach the coffers of the municipality during his administration. For this reason, an arrest warrant was issued against him at the end of 2019; he was considered a fugitive from justice.
Layín was mayor of San Blas for the National Action Party ( PAN ) from 2008 to 2011 and independently from 2014 to 2017. It was in his last administration that the ostentatious politician -characterized by his big birthday parties and lifting skirts of women- sold a land of more than 45 thousand square meters, which was considered the airport of the municipality.
The Nayarit politician rose to fame when in 2014, before winning the municipal presidency for the second time, he confessed that he stole “little” from the city council. “I have been criticized a lot that I like money, who doesn’t like it? What did I steal from the city? Yes I stole, yes I stole, a little because I am very poor … just a little shave,” he confessed at the time.
Now, the former mayor may face 2 years in prison, after the Trial Court of the Regional Center for Criminal Justice issued the said sentence, as well as a fine of 30 days of minimum wage.
However, the Nayarit State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) may challenge the sentence, since originally a 23-year prison sentence was requested for the crimes of bribery, abuse of power, and damage to public finances, which were dismissed by the judge.
In addition, Layín could avoid going to prison, since the justice established a reparation payment to avoid going to jail; a condition that may be approved when the case is closed.
In 2017, the same year that $12 million pesos went missing from the city, Ramírez tried to be governor of Nayarit; however, he lost the election. Since 2018, the politician evaded the public hearings to which he was summoned, for which the arrest warrant was issued against him. Layín was called to appear on several occasions, but -instead- he justified his absences with medical certificates, evading justice.
It was in June of this year that Hilario was seen walking in the streets of Tepic, despite being wanted by the Mexican authorities, and even by Interpol. However, the FGE announced that the search and capture were suspended due to an injunction filed by the politician.
“The immigration alerts and the arrest warrants issued against Hilario “N” were momentarily suspended, due to the protection that the accused was granted during the second half of May of this year in the traditional system, and before an orality judge in the first fortnight of June (…) That is, the accused is still subject to trial for the aforementioned crimes,” explained the FGE.
