Overview
- The municipality confirmed the dismissal by decree after concluding an administrative summary in mid-November and forwarding evidence to judicial authorities.
- Monitoring between January 24 and February 4 captured the official hiding bundles of cash in her office, with at least 11 videos submitted as evidence.
- Auditors reported altered records, double registration of receipts, cash discrepancies and improper use of the “Ingresos Pendientes” account to conceal the diversion.
- Mayor Juan Manuel Ibarguren said accounting inconsistencies prompted a notice to prosecutors and a months-long internal process that ended in termination.
- Norma Beatriz Watson, 59, with roughly three decades in the municipality, claims the money was personal savings and disputes the recordings, but the Disciplinary Board rejected her defenses as the criminal case proceeds.