Gabriel Berard, the chief of the Buenos Aires City Police, and his twin brother Gustavo are being investigated by the Transparency Office of the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security for celebrating their birthdays at the Jet bowling alley. The case escalated because the chief He would have asked the commissioners and superintendents for a minimum gift of $200 per person. This was captured in a WhatsApp message that went viral among the commissioners and said: “The boss’s birthday is coming and this year he wants the gift in green.”
The police sources consulted by this magazine maintain that Berard usually has these types of eccentricities of taking advantage of the anniversary of his birth to profit from the police’s ability to obtain money. In previous years he would have put together a list of gifts similar to those given at weddings, with appliances such as coffee makers, blenders, food processors and toasters, among other products. When NEWS consulted Berard about his birthday, he stated that the bowling alley “was rented for noon” and that it was not the entire bowling alley but “a room for the period of three hours.” And he added that “the police chiefs were invited and a barbecue of camaraderie was held.” Regarding the money, he said that “there was no gift list in dollars.” After the publication of the original note that sparked the internal investigation, more police sources contacted this magazine to confirm that they had been asked for money. Some of them, the most outraged, said they felt “extorted” by the boss’s eccentric request.
At the party there was an open bar with drinks and beer and music. It would have lasted more than the three hours mentioned and, perhaps most seriously, it was done during working hours, leaving the entire leadership of the City Police without leaders on hand to resolve queries.
The internal investigation is in the hands of the Undersecretary of Transparency, Alfonso Palmou, who reports to Minister Gustavo Coria. The ministry told NOTICIAS that “whenever the conduct of police personnel is questioned, an ex officio investigation is initiated.”
Now we have to wait and see what resolution the ministry will take and whether any of the 17 superintendents or the more than 50 community and neighborhood commissioners who report to Berard will testify.
