Puerto Rican Governor Pleads Not Guilty

[HURAKAN]

Thursday, Mar. 27, 2008
Puerto Rico Governor Charged
By AP/MANUEL ERNESTO RIVERA

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — A law enforcement official says Puerto Rico's governor has been charged in a long-running public corruption probe in the U.S. island territory.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday that Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila is among several people named in a sealed indictment.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the indictment is still sealed.

An FBI spokesman in San Juan declined to comment, saying there would be a news conference later to discuss the first arrests in the probe.

A government official in San Juan also said Acevedo would be charged in the indictment and that the governor's attorneys were expected to appear in court later Thursday.

Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.
__________________________________________________________

It's politician season.

[HURAKAN]

Puerto Rican Governor Faces 18 Counts
1 hour ago

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — U.S. authorities have announced an indictment charging Puerto Rico's governor with 18 counts in a long-running campaign finance probe.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said Thursday the indictment also charges 12 other people associated with Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila's party.

Rodriguez told reporters that the 13 are accused of running a conspiracy to illegally raise money to pay off Acevedo's campaign debts in 2000.

At the time, Acevedo was running to be the U.S. island territory's nonvoting member of Congress.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila is among several people named in a sealed indictment, officials said Thursday, as U.S. authorities made the first arrests in a long-running probe into his party's finances.

An Associated Press reporter saw at least five officials from the Popular Democratic Party as they were led in handcuffs into the U.S. federal building in San Juan.

An FBI spokesman declined to provide any details, saying there would be news conference later.

Acevedo has said previously that he was a focus of the grand jury probe but he was not among those seen in custody. His spokeswoman said he was still home sleeping at the time of the early morning arrests as far as she knew.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the indictment was still sealed, told The Associated Press that Acevedo was among several people named in the indictment.

A government official also said Acevedo would be charged in the indictment and that the governor's attorneys were expected to appear in court later Thursday. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

A Harvard-educated attorney and career politician, Acevedo, 45, served in Washington as the island's nonvoting delegate to Congress, and was elected governor in 2004 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. He is running for re-election this year.

Acevedo's party favors maintaining the island's semiautonomous relationship with the U.S. mainland. His leading opponent in the governor's race favors making Puerto Rico the 51st state.


Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this report.

[HURAKAN]

Luis, ¿que se dice en San Juan de esta cuestión?

Luis, what is being said in San Juan about this problem?

[Category 5]

You know I'll tell you the corruption in politics just makes me wanna vomit.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Does anyone realize that if Puerto Rico became the 51st state, it would immediately knock New Mexico off its perch as the state with the greatest percentage of Hispanic citizens. And New Mexico doesn't have any other claims to fame except Roswell, and that place attracts UFO weirdos.

[HURAKAN]

Courant.com
Puerto Rico Governor Arrested
By EDMUND H. MAHONY

Courant Staff Writer

11:16 AM EDT, March 27, 2008

Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila and 12 political associates were arrested Monday for a long list of federal campaign finance crimes, a development that political observers say could dramatically shift the playing field in the island's increasingly important Democratic presidential primary.

Federal authorities began taking Acevedo allies on the island and in the greater Philadelphia area into custody early Thursday based on charges outlined in a 18-count indictment returned by a grand jury in San Juan earlier in the week, according to witnesses in San Juan and Philadelphia.

At a press conference in San Juan Thursday morning, Acting Puerto Rico U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said Acevedo and the 12 others are accused of running a conspiracy to illegally raise money to pay off his campaign debt in 2000, according to an Associated Press bulletin from the island.

In 2000, before his 2004 election as governor, Acevedo was campaigning to be the island territory's non-voting representative in the U.S. Congress. He has been the target for at least three years of the campaign finance fraud investigation. The investigation began as an inquiry into "bundled" political contributions from Philadelphia before jumping to San Juan.

It has been a riveting political soap opera for a year as Acevedo geared up his campaign to remain in office in the island's November gubernatorial election. A long line of grand jury witnesses said they were questioned about whether Acevedo administration contracts were awarded in return for political contributions. The governor reguularly was peppered with questions about the investigation during his frequent public appearances.

Late last summer, a team of inluential Washington lobbyists on the Acevedo administration payroll launched an extraordinary campaign to block the appointment as U.S. Attorney of Rodriguez, who was then the assistant federal prosecutor running the campaign finance investigation. The governor's office succeeded in having the nomination indefinitely held by Congress. But Puerto Rico's federal judges interceded in September, excercising their authority to appoint Rodriguez. The campaign finance investigation continued.

In November, Acevedo held an unusual press conference in San Juan to acknowledge that he was the target of the investigation. But he claimed it was a political witch hunt by a Republicans trying to destroy Democratic candidates across the country.

Acevedo is a nominal Democrat, but as governor heads the island's Popular Democratic Party, the principal political goal of which is to maintain Puerto Rico's status as a unincorporated U.S. territory. As a territory, a status referred to popularly as commonwealth, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but cannot vote for U.S. President and have no voting representation in the U.S. Congress.

Despite doubts about Acevedo's political viability created by the long running investigation, Acevedo has emerged as the face of Barrack Obama's Democratic presidential primary campaign in Puerto Rico.

During a brief trip by Obama to the island in November, Acevedo appeared at a fundraiser that raised more than $100,000 for the Obama campaign. Late last winter, Acevedo endorsed Obama after the Obama campaign issued a position paper sympathetic to the Popular Democratic Party's anti-statehood position.

Political observers have long speculated that an Acevedo indictment could create a vacuum at the top of the Obama campaign on the island at a time when Obama, Clinton and their surrogates arrive to campaign for Puerto Rico's 63 delegates. The island primary is scheduled to take place June 1.

Obama and Acevedo supporters have been largely silent on the subject, but some Clinton supporters have followed the campaign finance investigation with something close to glee.

"I think it could have a huge effect," said Puerto Rico Senate majority leader Kenneth McClintock, a statehooder, Democratic national committee member and one of the island's leading Clinton supporters. "If for any reason he is incapacitated from campaigning for Obama, it would create a big hole in the Obama campaign in Puerto Rico."

Political observers on the island say the governor's arrest could cause turmoil at the top of the Popular Democratic Party, diverting the party's attention inward rather than to the Obama campaign. Among other things, they believe the indictment could give more ammunition to the party wing that wants Acevedo to withdraw as its gubernatorial candidate.

What's more, the observer's say any public appearances by Acevedo in support of Obama are no likely to be overwhelmed by questions about the indictment.

The Popular Democratic Party's principal political rival on the island is the New Progressive Party, which wants Puerto Rico to become a state. The smaller, but intellectually influential Puerto Rico Independence Party supports independence for the island.

[Category 5]

PWNED!

[cycloneye]

Luis, ¿que se dice en San Juan de esta cuestión?

Luis, what is being said in San Juan about this problem?

Well,first he has not been arrested because there is a arrange between the federal attorney and the governors attorney to have the governor go himself to custody.All the agencies haved been paralized today as the news broke this morning.The reactions from the people here are mainly sad,some skeptical that this is has occured.There is already talk of impeachment from the house.The governor will make a speech at 5:30 PM EDT and I will give you details later.

[cycloneye]

Update:



In his speech the governor said he will not resign his governor post.He says all of the accussations are false.He will fight to the end the judicial proccess.So now,the impeachement proccess will start tommorow as the Speaker of the House just said.

So there you have the latest Sandy.

[HURAKAN]

Thanks Luis. A very heated political atmosphere in Puerto Rico.

[cycloneye]

http://www.elnuevodia.com/diario/notici ... aje/383799



Sandy here is detailed information about all of this.

[HURAKAN]

March 28, 2008
U.S. Issues Indictment of Governor in Puerto Rico
By KIRK SEMPLE
Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá of Puerto Rico, charged in a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday with campaign finance violations, denied any wrongdoing and vowed to remain in office and fight the charges.

Among the 19 criminal counts he faces are tax fraud and using campaign money to pay for family vacations in Miami; Orlando, Fla.; and China; to pay for $57,000 worth of “high end” clothing; and to pay personal credit card bills.

The indictment threw Puerto Rican politics into disarray as some politicians and political commentators called for Mr. Acevedo’s resignation and members of the opposition party, the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, began to discuss impeachment.

Mr. Acevedo said the indictment, which charges him with crimes related to financing three campaigns from 1999 to 2004, was “politically motivated” and “totally false.”

“I want you to be sure that I will continue working hard with my cabinet to move the country forward and face the economic challenges,” the governor, a Democrat running for re-election on the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party ticket, said in a televised statement. “I will never allow a politically motivated prosecution to distract me from serving you.”

The indictment ended months of speculation and produced something of a collective exhalation as the island could pass from gossip to the realities of a federal prosecution.

The indictment, from a grand jury investigation that lasted more than two years, also charged 12 associates of Mr. Acevedo on the island and in the United States mainland with participation in illegal fund-raising.

Mr. Acevedo, 48, said he would surrender to the authorities on Friday. He faces up to 20 years if convicted on all counts, the authorities said.

Most of the other defendants were arrested, and federal officials said they were seeking the remaining few.

José F. Aponte Hernández, the speaker of the commonwealth’s House and a member of the New Progressive Party, said the party would decide on Friday whether to proceed with impeachment.

“This is a bad situation for Puerto Rico, not only for the governor, but for the people of Puerto Rico,” Mr. Aponte said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Aponte said that although he and the governor were from different parties “this is not the best situation for Puerto Rico.”

“I can not be happy about it,” he added.

The prosecution may affect the presidential race. Mr. Acevedo is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention and a supporter of Senator Barack Obama.

The 27-count indictment accuses the defendants of conspiring to raise money illegally to pay off large debts stemming from Mr. Acevedo’s successful campaigns in 2000 and 2002 to be the commonwealth’s nonvoting member of Congress, a position he held from 2001 to 2005, when he became governor. The reported campaign debt in 2000 was $545,000, the indictment says.

In the scheme, the indictment adds, Mr. Acevedo, with the help of other defendants, solicited and then reimbursed illegal campaign contributions from members of Mr. Acevedo’s family and staff and from the family members and staff of a group of businessmen in and around Philadelphia.

To circumvent contribution limits, the governor and his associates disguised the sources of the contributions by listing them under other people’s names, the indictment states.

In return for the contributions, the indictment says, Mr. Acevedo helped the businessmen obtain contracts from Puerto Rican government agencies for them and their clients.

In the governor’s 2004 campaign, the indictment says, Puerto Rican businessmen made large and unreported donations to the campaign, as much as $50,000 each, by disguising them as corporate payments to a public relations and media company that the campaign had contracted. In fact, those payments were covering campaign expenses.

The indictment accuses Mr. Acevedo of using campaign money for personal use and illegally failing to report it on income tax returns. The investigation had been a lively topic among politicians, political analysts and the news media in Puerto Rico. In the absence of many hard facts, rumor became operative, until the announcement of the indictment.

“It is the talk everywhere, and in general, what you hear is people saying what an embarrassment this is for Puerto Rico,” said Michelle Fabelo, a finance manager in San Juan.

“This is a zoo, you can imagine,” added Luis Dávila Colón, a political analyst in San Juan.

Reaction on the island appeared to hew to the sharp divisions that define commonwealth politics. Mr. Acevedo’s supporters backed his contention that the case was politically motivated. His opponents said the indictment seemed to underscore their long-held contentions that the governor was corrupt.

In a statement circulated by the governor’s office, Thomas C. Green, a lawyer in Washington who represents Mr. Acevedo, called the charges senseless and questioned why the indictment was unsealed “only months” before the election.

“This is an unprecedented and underserved intrusion by the federal government into the affairs and electoral process in the commonwealth,” Mr. Green said in a statement.

[HURAKAN]

Puerto Rico Governor Surrenders

Friday March 28 2008

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila has surrendered on federal corruption charges.

Hundreds of supporters swarmed the governor's SUV as it approached the federal building in San Juan on Friday.

A federal indictment unsealed Thursday accuses Acevedo and a dozen associates of scheming to raise and conceal thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions. If convicted, the governor faces up to 20 years in prison.

Acevedo has denied any wrongdoing and accused U.S. investigators in a televised speech of distracting him from trying to revive the island's recession-bound economy.

[brunota2003]

I will NOT give up! NEVER!

The next day...
O.K., you win.

Wow

[HURAKAN]

Puerto Rican Governor Pleads Not Guilty

By ANDREW O. SELSKY

Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila pleaded not guilty Friday to corruption charges in an alleged campaign finance scheme and was released on his own recognizance.

Hundreds of flag-waving supporters turned out to cheer Acevedo when he arrived at the federal courthouse to be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken before appearing in front of a magistrate.

The governor sent a message of gratitude from inside the courthouse to his raucous supporters outside.

``We recognize the presence of the outraged Puerto Ricans here in defense of our people,'' he said. ``We give them thanks and respect.''

Acevedo appeared composed after the hearing, winking at reporters as he left the courtroom.

The governor, charged with 19 counts that carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted, is the first Puerto Rican governor to face federal charges since the island became a semiautonomous U.S. commonwealth in 1952. No trial date has been set.

Under a pretrial agreement, Acevedo will be allowed to travel outside the island after providing notice but must check in with federal authorities once a month by telephone.

A grand jury indictment accuses Acevedo and a dozen associates of illegally raising money to pay off more than $500,000 in campaign debts from his two terms as Puerto Rico's nonvoting delegate to Congress from 2000-2004.

Acevedo has denied any wrongdoing and accused U.S. authorities of launching a politically motivated attack.

The governor, who is up for re-election this year, said in a televised address Thursday that he will not resign.

``While I will vigorously defend my actions, my family and my honor, I will never let a politically motivated process distract me from the job I do for you,'' he said.

At a Thursday night meeting with members of his Popular Democratic Party, however, Acevedo agreed to do anything necessary - including resign - to keep the investigation from harming the organization, former party leader Miguel Hernandez Agosto said.

``That, to me, is a very serious, important and patriotic declaration,'' Hernandez said. ``You cannot be more clear.''

Acevedo's chief rival in November's gubernatorial election called on Acevedo to resign.

The governor ``does not have the moral standing to govern the people and resolve this mess that he has gotten us into,'' said Luis Fortuno, the island's current nonvoting congressional delegate.

Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party supports maintaining Puerto Rico's semiautonomous relationship to the United States, while his rival wants the island to become the 51st state.

Acevedo had accused the Justice Department of targeting him for his criticism of a 2005 FBI raid in Puerto Rico in which a fugitive independence militant was killed. He also says he is being targeted for his opposition to the death penalty, which can only be imposed in the island for federal crimes.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez and the head of the FBI in San Juan have denied any political motivation to the charges against the governor.

---

Associated Press writer Manuel Ernesto Rivera in San Juan contributed to this report.

[gtalum]

It seems like the Democrats are trying really hard to catch back up to the GOP in terms of corruption scandals.

[HURAKAN]

Puerto Rico party creates fund to ease court costs for indicted governor, associates

The Associated Press
Sunday, March 30, 2008

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico's ruling party is asking supporters to help pay legal expenses incurred by Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila and associates facing charges of illegally raising money to pay off campaign debts.

A bank account was created to accept donations because defense costs in the federal corruption case will likely top US$2 million (€1.3 million), Anibal Jose Torres, the governor's chief of staff and director of the Popular Democratic Party, said Sunday.

"We are going to offer the aid, and it is up to the discretion of the person if they accept the help or not," Torres told reporters at party headquarters in San Juan.

The federal indictment handed down Thursday accuses Acevedo and a dozen others of illegally raising money to pay off more than US$500,000 (€317,000) in campaign debts incurred when he was Puerto Rico's nonvoting delegate to Congress from 2000 to 2004.

Acevedo, who has denied any wrongdoing, is charged with 19 counts that carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. He is the first Puerto Rican governor to face federal charges since the island became a semiautonomous U.S. commonwealth in 1952.

He says the U.S. Department of Justice is targeting him because he criticized an FBI raid that killed a fugitive militant for Puerto Rican independence. He also opposes the death penalty, which can only be imposed on the island for federal crimes.
____________________________________________________

If the allegations are true (and it's difficult to say that 19 accusations could all be wrong) this would be like the ultimate hypocrisy. First steal the people's money for your benefit and when you get caught, ask for the money of the citizens to pay for your trial. Like Britney says in her song, "Are you kidding me."

[gtalum]

Isn't "Puerto Rico's ruling party" the Democrat Party? If so, why are they reporting it so circumspectly?

[HURAKAN]

Posted on Thu, Apr. 03, 2008
Puerto Rican governor's indictment splits political scene
BY FRANCES ROBLES
Puerto Rico Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá tried to make his stroll down Old San Juan for an afternoon cup of coffee the other day look casual, but the gaggle of reporters and photographers following him gave it away: The U.S. commonwealth is in a political tailspin.
A recent 27-count indictment of Acevedo and 12 allies capped three years of political turmoil, further dividing an already fractious political scene.

It put the last year of Acevedo's term in doubt and raised questions about whether the superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention -- who is a Barack Obama supporter -- can be a viable candidate in November's race for governor.

For now, the leadership of Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party is standing behind him -- and even announced a special legal defense fund they hope will reach $2 million. Already, some are griping that Acevedo can't possibly win the election. And although he said he would return to work this week as governor and candidate, Acevedo also suggested he would do whatever it takes for his party to win -- including step aside.

For now he is back at work, announcing new infrastructure projects and meeting with the chief of police.

But Acevedo already faced a difficult battle: The island is in a severe recession marked by an exodus of its middle class. A budget crisis two years ago forced him to shut down the government for two weeks. A teacher's strike just ended, and Acevedo enacted the first sales tax and raised water fees. Unemployment is rampant, and inflation is at 15 percent.

''He won't be the candidate. He's dead meat,'' said political commentator Luis Dávila Colón. ``But he also definitely won't resign; he needs the governorship to mount his defense.''

Just seven months from an election, the incumbent candidate has been charged with 19 of the federal crimes in the 27-count indictment, including using campaign funds to buy $57,000 worth of suits. Opponents have called for his resignation, and others have said it's time for impeachment.

But the governor with some of the lowest approval ratings in Puerto Rico's history is determined to stay in office and run for reelection. A few hours after he was fingerprinted at the FBI's San Juan bureau, his office put out a news release about global warming.

''Actually, I have a Cabinet meeting right after this press conference and I will initiate my schedule starting next Monday,'' Acevedo said in a televised news conference after pleading not guilty in federal court last week. ``I want to invite the people of Puerto Rico to reflect about all this process and to look for ways on how this difficult time can make us even stronger.''

He asked the public for a little time and a little space.

Acevedo was charged with conspiracy to circumvent campaign finance limit laws. The U.S. attorney's office in San Juan says when he ran to become resident commissioner, Puerto Rico's nonvoting representative in Congress, Acevedo accepted $7 million of public campaign financing, which required him to keep the costs of his campaign under $11 million. He surpassed that cap and allegedly covered it up by asking donors to pay off the campaign's bill with an ad agency, which in turn concocted invoices, according to an indictment.

Because his 2000 campaign was more than half a million dollars in debt, Acevedo continued to raise money after the race through ''straw contributions'' and then lobbied on behalf of the consultants who helped raise the money, a grand jury indictment said.

He also is accused of using campaign funds for family vacations to Miami, Orlando and Costa Rica, plus airfare to China for his two children.

Already people are floating names of possible contenders to run in his place, including former governor Rafael Hernández Colón, Caguas Mayor William Miranda Marín and former Secretary of Commerce Alejandro García Padilla.

''Those who are talking about candidacies at this moment have not understood what this is about,'' Acevedo said at a news conference Monday posted on the Primera Hora newspaper website. ``I asked the Popular Party for space, and the Popular Party gave it to me. Not the leaders, the people. That space for dialogue and reflection is just beginning. For this great battle, I will do what has to be done.''

Moments after Acevedo's indictment was announced Thursday by Acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez, Comptroller Manuel Díaz Saldaña used his turn at the microphone to call for Acevedo's resignation. It was not long before Acevedo's opponent in the governor's race, Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño, did the same.

''If anything, these accusations, irregularities and leaks show me that the Popular Democratic Party has to win the elections,'' Acevedo said at a news conference held just after he turned himself in to authorities Friday. ``If these people can do this to the governor elected by the people of Puerto Rico, imagine what they could do if they had all the powers -- federal and state.''

If Acevedo stepped down as governor, Secretary of State Fernando Bonilla would take his place.

Acevedo and his supporters say the case is a product of a Republican witch hunt, part of the same kind of politically motivated investigation that ensnared the Democratic governor of Alabama, triggering hearings in the House of Representatives. The Department of Justice has scoffed at the charges.

''He will be making sure this doesn't derail him from what he has to do: be governor,'' Flavio Cumpiano, executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. ``We believe that is exactly what they were trying to do -- derail him and get him to resign. He is not going to resign.''

Fortuño says Acevedo's policies put Puerto Rico in the worst recession since World War II, and said the governor has tried to cloak his crimes in false anti-U.S. patriotism.

''You don't have to be corrupt to be a patriot,'' Fortuño said at a televised news conference.

To make matters worse for Acevedo, the legislature is controlled by the New Progressive Party, Fortuño's pro-statehood opposition party, which routinely blocks his measures. Acevedo supports Puerto Rico's commonwealth status, and most political issues on the island are split straight down party lines.

Supporters say Puerto Rico's tribal politics kept the Harvard-educated veteran politician from making economic progress.

''What you have in Puerto Rico,'' says pro-statehood political analyst Benny Frankie Cerezo, ``are tribes continuously at war with each other.''

The son of a former senator, Acevedo was elected to Puerto Rico's House of Representatives in 1992. Reelected in 1996, he was House minority leader the following year.

He has been his party's president for a decade, and before becoming governor was the nonvoting representative in Congress.

A controversial figure known for keeping tight control on his party, Acevedo faces the political fight of his life.

''I see this as a real challenge, a personal challenge,'' Acevedo told reporters in San Juan, ``but I see it also as a fight and a challenge for the people of Puerto Rico.''

[Ed Mahmoud]

Presidential politics involved- this guy is a superdelegate, pledged to Obama, if he resigns, he loses his status as a superdelegate. If he pleads guilty, he'd have to resign.