Jorge Díaz Serrano
 Jorge Díaz Serrano    (businessman, politician, engineer, fraudster) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 February 1921 Sonora, Mexico |
| Died | 25 April, 2011 (Age 90) |
| Nationality | Mexican |
Mexican politician, and fraudster who did business with George H. W. Bush
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Jorge Díaz Serrano was a Mexican politician, and fraudster who did business with George H. W. Bush.
Career
George H. W. Bush admitted knowing Jorge Díaz Serrano, but claimed he only did business with him for 7 months. In fact, the duplicate SEC filings unearthed by Jonathan Kwitny revealed that they did (illegal) business for 4 years.[1]
He was in charge of Pemex during the oil boom years from 1976 to 1981, when Mexico jumped from the world's 24th to the 4th largest oil producer.[2]
Imprisonment
In 1983, Diaz Serrano was stripped of his congressional immunity and arrested on corruption charges. He remained imprisoned for the next 4 years, at which point he was found guilty on charges of receiving $34M of kickbacks for the purchase of two oil tankers and sentenced to 10 years plus time served. He contended that he was a scapegoat and the victim of a political vendetta. He was released after only 5 years, still protesting his innocence, and did not pay the $50M fine, claiming that he was unable to.[2]
References
- ↑ Jonathan Kwitny, "The Mexican Connection: A look at an old George Bush business venture", Barron's September 19, 1988. Cited with further discussion by Russ Baker, Family of Secrets (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009) pp. 37 and 505.
- ↑ a b http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-31/news/mn-10846_1_diaz-serrano
