Garabito expands disciplinary charges against its Citizen Services coordinator

The Municipality of Garabito expanded the transfer of charges within the disciplinary administrative procedure being pursued against Fulvio Barboza Hernández, coordinator of the Citizen Services Process, for allegedly advising a subordinate on how to evade the investigation and conceal a diversion of funds. The decision is contained in Administrative Resolution No. OD-007-2026-DCHM-FBH, signed by the Directing Body of the Disciplinary Administrative Procedure at 2:00 p.m. on August 8, 2026, and published by edict in La Gaceta No. 198 on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, page 80 (reference IN202601133073). The oral and private hearing was convened for Wednesday, November 25, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., at the offices of the Civic Center for Peace, in Puntarenas Garabito.

From an investigation into cash registers to the expansion of facts

The file was opened with resolution RAM-030-2026-FGM, at 12:00 p.m. on March 6, 2026, personally notified to the investigated party on March 25, 2026. Subsequently, the Deciding Body—municipal mayor Francisco González Madrigal—assumed knowledge of the case through resolution RAM-161-2026-FGM, at 10:00 a.m. on July 23, 2026, based on articles 83 paragraph 1), 84 paragraph b), 93 and following, and 306 of the General Law of Public Administration, and ordered the expansion of the investigated facts.

The expansion was based on a testimonial statement given in another administrative file related to former official Christopher Solano Álvarez, involving facts that arose during the same employment relationship and were unknown at the time of the original transfer of charges. By resolution RAM-180-2026-FGM, at 1:00 p.m. on July 27, 2026, it was decreed that the evidence regarding the expanded facts shall be offered and received during the oral and private hearing, pursuant to article 309 of the General Law of Public Administration.

The imputed facts

The expanded transfer describes eight facts, all “at a level of probability”:

• Christopher Solano Álvarez was a subordinate cashier and was under the direct supervision of Fulvio Barboza Hernández, his immediate hierarchical superior.
• During the subordinate’s suspension, the investigated party held a conversation with him that was witnessed and heard by other officials.
• He advised him not to appear at the Municipality of Garabito, to obtain medical leave to justify the absence, to refrain from appearing at the facilities, and not to render accounts as a public official.
• He advised him to hide or conceal himself in case he was sought by the municipality.
• He offered to pay for the services of a private doctor so that successive medical leaves could be issued.
• He did not inform the Municipality of Garabito nor the municipal mayor of the acts of diversion of funds, and failed to report the crime.

With that conduct, according to the resolution, the investigated party allegedly breached the duty of probity and the trust placed in him for the management of public funds that enter daily through the Citizen Services Process, which is managed by the General Cashier’s Office. The subordinate, the document indicates, was found administratively guilty of the misappropriation of funds carried out in his role as a cashier.

Hearing, defense, and appeals

The resolution grants the investigated party the legal timeframe to exercise his defense regarding the expanded facts, with the possibility of providing exculpatory evidence in writing or during the hearing. In that venue, he may present his oral defense, offer and produce evidence, be accompanied by his defense attorney or a trusted representative, and exercise the other rights conferred by the legal system.

The date of September 7, 2026, was voided because the investigated party could not be notified; he is hereby warned to designate a means or location to receive notifications. Ordinary resources of revocation and appeal may be filed against the resolution, in accordance with Article 345 of the General Law of Public Administration and the Municipal Code.

Publication by edict

The notice is published for the third consecutive time, a notification by edict ordered in the act itself, with three continuous publications. The document is signed by Arlyn Arellys Carmona Laguna, institutional provider for the Municipality of Garabito.

The case is significant because it exposes the standard of conduct required of those who manage municipal cash offices: the resolution does not dispute the guilt of the subordinate, who has already been sanctioned, but rather the duty of the hierarchical superior to inform, report, and not cover up. The November hearing will determine if the expansion of charges results in a disciplinary sanction against an official who, in addition to being a coordinator, is a lawyer.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 198 of Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Miscellaneous Documents section — Municipalities, p. 80 (official reference: IN202601133073).