FBI Arrests Fundraiser for Puerto Rico's Governing Party in Fraud Scheme; Federal Funds Involved

NotiUno.com (Spanish-language news brief) ^ | April 29, 2008

[rrstar96]

(English-language translation)

Federal authorities arrested eight people this morning in relation to a fraud scheme in the [Puerto Rico] Department of Education, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spokesman Harry Rodríguez confirmed firsthand to "Notiuno in the Morning". According to Rodríguez, the Grand Jury's indictments come in response to irregularities in the handling of federal funds in that agency. However, he could not offer more details about the case since the indictments remain sealed. For his part, Teachers Federation President Rafael Feliciano assured Notiuno that one of the persons implicated in the scheme is a fundraiser for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), for which Governor [and PPD Chairman] Aníbal Acevedo Vilá's name will be associated with the presumed illegal acts.

Personnel from the Office of the Inspector General and the FBI were in charge of this operation.

[rrstar96]

ping

[rrstar96]

The latest....

All 8 defendants are employees of the Department of Education. Teachers Federation President Feliciano maintains that the indicted PPD fundraiser is the mastermind and that he has met with the island’s First Lady Luisa Gándara. Gándara denies knowing the man.

[cll]

Thank you for the report, rrstar96.

Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

"It's all over, people! We don't have a prayer!"

[cll]

Now there are reports that some PR government agency heads are “highly encouraging” certain public employees to contribute $100.00 each to the governor’s legal defense fund.

Is this worse than Louisiana’s Huey Long’s and New York’s Tammany Hall?

[rrstar96]

Thank God those days are over for Louisiana. We have had since then a civil-service system based strictly on merit rather than “to the victor belong the spoils”.