María del Luján Telpuk

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María del Luján Telpuk
Bornc. 1981 (1981) (age c. 42–43)
NationalityArgentine
Other namesLorena Telpuk
Occupation(s)Teacher, policewoman, model
Known forMaletinazo
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
ParentYolanda (mother)

Lorena Telpuk, formerly María del Luján Telpuk (sometimes María de Luján Telpuk) or the Suitcase Girl (born c. 1981), is a former airport police officer at

US$800,000 as it went through an X-ray machine in August 2007,[1][2] initiating a very public international election scandal, known as Maletinazo
.

When the suitcase scandal became public, Telpuk became an international celebrity, appearing on the cover of several magazines, including those of the February 2008 issue of the Argentine edition of Playboy magazine and the March 2008 issue of the Venezuelan edition of Playboy magazine.[3]

In 2008, she changed her name to Lorena Telpuk, had breast augmentation surgery, and continued to pose for adult modeling photographs and derive income from her notoriety.[4][5] She became involved in larger political struggles between the US government and leftist Latin American leaders, receiving death threats requiring police protection, and testifying in court regarding her involvement in the case.[6][7][8]

Personal

Telpuk is a former

charter airline, begun taking English classes and begun to prepare for a role on Skating for a Dream, an Argentine variety show.[9]

Telpuk's mother Yolanda lives in a

middle-class suburb of Buenos Aires.[1] She is widowed and used to work for a pasta factory.[9]

Maletinazo

Main article: Suitcase scandal

On August 4, 2007, at 2:45 a.m.,

Energía Argentina, SA, carried five Venezuelans and three Argentines who represented their respective governments' energy companies.[1]

Telpuk noticed six dense and perfectly rectangular blocks in the luggage scans.

bribe although she felt Wilson may have expected her to be willing to take one. Instead of pursuing a bribe, she reported the finding.[3]

Although the local media of both Venezuela and Argentina gave the story immediate front-page coverage, the case faded away until after Kirchner was elected.

leftist leader, Kirchner.[1] Two days after the December 10, 2007 inauguration, several arrests were announced by prosecutors working for the United States Attorney General. The arrests were for activities related to having offered Wilson $2 million to keep quiet about the contributions from Venezuela to support Kirchner's campaign.[1][10] In addition to Maletinazo, the case is known in Latin America as "Valijagate" or "Suitcasegate",[12] and Telpuk is known as the Suitcase Girl in her homeland, Argentina.[13]

For her part, Telpuk felt she was caught in the "middle of a rivalry of nations".

CIA lackey.[9] She has received a variety of threats by telephone and email and had police protection starting when the incident became a public scandal in December.[1]

Media appearances

Her first magazine cover appearance was on the December issue of an irreverent political magazine, Veintitrés where Telpuk appeared under the headline "The Bombshell Behind the Suitcase" standing behind a suitcase. She wore little other than a police cap, and another headline on the cover read, "Is She the Key Piece of a Plot Designed by Washington?"

pictorial, she posed with fewer clothes and with various props: the ubiquitous suitcase, dollar bills, including the propeller blades of a single-engine airplane.[9] She decided to pursue an appearance on the Argentine variety show "Bailando por un sueño", after Marcelo Tinelli visited her at the airport to congratulate her.[1]

Telpuk has appeared on various talk shows since the scandal.[14] In 2008, according to foreign language sources, she changed her name from María del Luján Telpuk to Lorena Telpuk; she was mysteriously dismissed from Skating for a Dream; and she posed for additional adult modeling photographs in Premium, an Argentine magazine.[4][5] Telpuk had breast augmentation surgery prior to her late 2008 court appearances.[6]

Courtroom

Telpuk testified in court in October 2008 on various days spanning the weekend of October 5, 2008, regarding her knowledge in the famous suitcase scandal.

political asylum by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as employment in the United States in exchange for modifying her witness statement that Mr. Antonini Wilson was the owner of the suitcase that contained the $800,000.[15] On November 3, 2008, part of the case was decided in a Miami courtroom when Franklin Durán, a wealthy businessman who allegedly conspired to cover up both the origin and the destination of the suitcase, was convicted of acting as an "unregistered agent" of Venezuela on American soil.[15] On March 17, 2009, Durán, who was facing up to fifteen years in prison, was sentenced to four.[16]

References

  1. ^
    Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Archived from the original
    on March 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  2. MSNBC.com. 2008-03-18. Archived from the original
    on March 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  3. ^
    Time Magazine. Time Inc. Archived from the original
    on March 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  4. ^ a b "Mientras arranca el juicio en Miami, la policía que destapó el valijagate posa desnuda en una revista". Perfil.com. 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  5. ^ a b Gallo, Darío (2008-07-11). "Bajaron de "Patinando por un sueño" a la policía que descubrió la valija con 800.000 dólares de Antonini". Perfil.com. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  6. ^ a b c Carroll, Rory (2008-10-05). "Pin-up girl tells how she spotted suitcase stuffed with cash". The Observer. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  7. ^ a b Chardy, Alfonso (2008-10-15). "Miami: South American suitcase-of-cash trial wrapping up in Miami – The case of the money-stuffed suitcase seized in Argentina is winding down in Miami". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  8. ^ a b Reyes, Gerardo (2008-10-05). "Playboy pinup tells her side in Venezuela suitcase trial: An Argentine security agent and Playboy model said a Venezuelan businessman agreed that a briefcase containing $800,000 was his despite his earlier testimony". Miami Herald. Miami Herald Media Co. Retrieved 2008-12-04. [dead link]
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i McDonnell, Patrick J. (2008-02-17). "'Suitcase-gate' gives cop her 15 minutes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  10. ^
    Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2008-03-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  11. ^ a b Schweimler, Daniel (2007-08-14). "Argentina probes cash-filled case". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  12. Newsbank
    . Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  13. Newsbank
    . Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  14. ^ "Clue witness ready to testify in suitcase money scandal". MercoPress. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  15. ^ a b Barrionuevo, Alexei & Carmen Gentile (2008-11-03). "Conviction in Spy Case Over Cash-Filled Suitcase". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  16. ^ Lucoff, Mort & David Voreacos (2009-03-17). "Venezuelan Agent Gets 4-Year Term in U.S. in Suitcase Scandal". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2012-01-01.

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