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Mayor of Barceloneta Sentenced to 120 Months
October 09, 2012 02:42pm
On October 1, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico announced that Sol Luis Fontanes-Olivo, the former mayor of Barceloneta, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a $150,000 fine, a forfeitur of $60,000, and three years of supervised release. He was charged for bribery involved in certain programs receiving federal funds.
The co-conspirator was Francisco A. Pumarego-Rodríguez, the former planning director of Barceloneta. He was sentenced to five years probation.
The FBI reports that Juan Antonio San Migueland another person called “Developer A” were contractors in the city of Barceloneta. Fontanes-Olivo and Pumarejo-Rodriguez were found to have received $50,000 from Developer A and $40,000 from San Miguel. The defendants received the bribes in agreement to use their authority to influence sales of property within the municipality. San Miguel is scheduled for sentencing on October 10, 2012.
The FBI reports that previous audio and video surveillance showed recordings of Fontanes-Olivo planning the arrangements and receiving the money. The evidence also proved that Pumarejo-Rodríguez picked up the money and delivered the fraudulent funds to Fontanes-Olivo.
U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríquez-Vélez stated, “This sentence reflects the serious nature of the offenses charges in this corruption case. Dishonest public officials who request illegal payments from contractors as a regular course of business do not serve the interests of their constituents. We hope that this tough sentence sends a clear message that is conduct is reprehensible and carries serious consequences.”
The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-San Juan Field Office, Joseph Campbell, said: “Public corruption is unacceptable because it undermines the faith citizens should have in their government officials, and it severely weakens the image of public service. The FBI has always encouraged individuals with information about any public corruption scheme to assist us in the fight against such an insidious threat.”
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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