Luis Patti

Luis Abelardo Patti (born 26 November 1952) is an Argentine convicted criminal, politician, and former senior police officer, sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in torture and murder during the 1970s.

Accusations against him date back to his early years in the force, a period of political instability and tough police action against guerillas, dissidents and other activities.

[2] In 1991 Patti was appointed by President Carlos Menem to lead the high-profile investigation into the murder of a young woman, María Soledad Morales, in Catamarca Province.

He concluded it was a crime of passion, amid further allegations of the use of torture with suspects, but some years later the son of a politician with influential friends was convicted of the murder after a separate investigation.

[5] Patti was ultimately convicted on April 14, 2010, for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment to be served in a regular prison facility; he admitted having a role in torture, albeit justifying his acts.

Legislators from ARI, with government support, attempted to change Argentine law to prevent those accused of involvement from torture from taking public positions, a move which is highly accepted.

[7] Public prosecutors were unable to find proof to support the hypothesis of a genuine abduction (telephone hearings implemented to track possible calls from the kidnappers indicated that Gerez himself, his concubine and political comrades maybe responsible), and consequently they have followed the theory of self-kidnapping.