Puerto Rico governor indicted by U.S. attorney
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila became the island’s first governor in history to face federal charges Thursday, when the U.S. attorney here unsealed a 27-count indictment accusing him and a dozen others of a scam to exceed campaign finance limits. But Acevedo quickly retaliated, saying the feds are “looking for blood.”
Calling the investigation a “multimillion-dollar political witch hunt,” Acevedo denied wrongdoing and vowed to hang on to his post. He is seven months from an election seeking a second term in office.
The 46-year-old governor and his supporters claimed the Department of Justice under President Bush has a penchant for going after Democrats. And they say the Popular Democratic Party governor was targeted because he sued the federal government in 2005 over its handling of the FBI’s killing of an independence activist and fugitive.
But the 19 charges – and the potentially 20 years in prison the governor faces – will boil down to whether he dipped into campaign funds for personal use and engaged in an elaborate scam to use straw campaign donations designed to skirt spending limits.
“This is not a just, balanced and honest investigation,” Acevedo said at an afternoon press conference. “They are lies and falsehoods.”
Acevedo is expected to turn himself in today to face charges that he essentially laundered illegal campaign contributions through a public relations company, which provided fake invoices to make the donations look like legitimate payment for services.
The longtime politician is viewed as a controversial figure and tough leader who served as the island’s Washington representative for four years. He supports Puerto Rico’s commonwealth status and was the first governor to enact a sales tax.
The fraud scheme he is now accused of was designed – according to the U.S. attorney’s office – so the campaign could hide donations and accept $7 million in public financing which required that he keep spending down. An ad agency allegedly filtered up to $800,000 in donations.
Democratic party operatives in Philadelphia, who were also criminally charged, raised tens of thousands of dollars in the names of friends, relatives and employees who were reimbursed in cash. The governor allegedly used his power to intervene on behalf of the Philadelphia fundraisers who sought government contracts for their consulting clients.
The indictment also alleges that Acevedo used campaign funds to pay personal American Express bills and go on trips with his family. The tab: $15,000 for trips to Miami, Orlando and Costa Rica, including airfare for his two children to go to China.
Acevedo was charged with conspiracy to violate election laws, making false statements, wire fraud, program fraud, conspiracy to defraud the IRS and filing a false tax return. Members of his campaign staff, his administrative aide, legal adviser, prominent Puerto Rican businessmen as well four people in Philadelphia were also indicted.