Overview
- The case began after a caller posing as Casación president Daniel Petrone contacted Judge Gustavo Fresneda via WhatsApp and phone seeking police transfers and the revocation of a detainee’s house arrest, using the threat “I’m going to cut off heads.”
- Federal Court No. 11 detained and questioned the suspect last week on charges of usurpation of honors and illegal firearm possession, with prosecutor Franco Picardi leading the case and Judge Sebastián Casanello conducting the interrogation.
- A raid in General Rodríguez seized a Bersa .380 pistol with a magazine and eight hollow‑point rounds, and investigators recovered the WhatsApp account that used Petrone’s photo taken from a news site.
- Phone intercepts describe negotiations over money for purported influence, including references to deposits and sums allegedly paid or owed for police transfers, according to case records reported by outlets.
- After refusing to testify and apologizing for the “inconveniences,” the ex‑PFA officer was placed on house arrest for health reasons while judicial processing proceeds, with judicial sources identifying him as Gustavo Omar de los Santos and citing prior fraud and impersonation episodes.