In the Dominican Republic, a three-judge district court has reportedly ruled that Italian-Canadian businessman Antonio Carbone should be released from prison as the one-year term of his re-trial jail sentence had expired.
According to a report from The Dominican Republic News Source, Carbone was sentenced to preventive detention as he awaited trial on charges that he attempted to murder Fernando Baez Guerrero, General Manager for Dream Casinos Corporation, in October of 2014 by fire-bombing the executive’s car.
Carbone and his brother Francesco established Dream Casinos Corporation before losing control over much of the business after reportedly being loaned over $110 million by Canadian financier and philanthropist Michael DeGroote and amid lawsuits, accusations of fraud and underworld intrigue. Guerrero later sided with the Ontario businessman and allegedly stated that he remains in fear for his life.
The Dominican Republic News Source reported that Carbone, who was detained at Punta Cana International Airport as he attempted to leave the country for Canada in order to celebrate his 40th birthday, has been in prison since late-January of 2015 while his brother was later declared a fugitive along with another foreign suspect.
The Carbone brothers reportedly still hold a majority stake in Dream Casinos Corporation and have maintained their innocence throughout.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic and Canada are said to be investigating whether an international criminal organization used the business and its chain of around 1,000 betting shops to illegally launder money and serve as a front for other operations.
Carbone was reportedly being detained in San Pedro Prison, which is located about 65 miles west of Punta Cana, and told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in early-2015 that he had been the victim of a smear campaign and intended to launch legal actions against prosecuting district attorney Yeni Berenice Reynoso Gomez and key witnesses for defamation.