Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez was arrested Thursday on bribery charges related to her 2020 campaign, according to the Department of Justice.
Vazquez, 62, allegedly accepted an offer for campaign funding in exchange for replacing Puerto Rico’s commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions with an appointment of international bank owner Herrera Velutini’s choosing, prosecutors said. The scheme allegedly took place between December 2019 and June 2020.
CUOMO AIDE BRIBERY CHARGES TO BE REVIEWED BY SUPREME COURT IN HISTORIC APPEAL
“The alleged bribery scheme rose to the highest levels of the Puerto Rican government, threatening public trust in our electoral processes and institutions of governance,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. said in a press release. “No one is above the rule of law.”
In 2019, OCIF began investigating Velutini’s bank, helmed by Mark Rossini, who also allegedly partook in the scheme. Velutini reached out to Vazquez with the offer through intermediaries, and she began to take action to push out the OCIF commissioner, according to the indictment.
By May 2020, Vazquez allegedly “took official action” to appoint a new commissioner to the post, one that had previously served as a consultant to Velutini. As a result, Velutini spent over $300,000 on her political behalf, per the indictment.
Additionally, after Vazquez was defeated in a primary race for governor in August 2020, Vazquez took steps to bribe Gov. Pedro Pierluisi (D), who bested her in a New Progressive Party primary, prosecutors alleged. Between April 2021 and August 2021, an intermediary working for Vazquez unwittingly conveyed an offer to an individual “acting at the direction of the FBI,” the DOJ said.
Vazquez, Velutini, and Rossini are each facing charges of honest services wire fraud, federal programs bribery, and conspiracy, which entail a maximum of up to 20 years behind bars, per the DOJ. Vazquez was slated to appear in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on Thursday and is expected to plead not guilty to the charges, CNN reported.
Pierluisi, who succeeded her as governor, stressed no one is above the law following the charges against Vazquez.
“Today we see once again that no one is above the law in Puerto Rico. Given this news certainly affects and damages the confidence of our people, I reiterate that in my administration we will continue having a common front with the authorities federal against anyone who commits an improper act,” Pierluisi tweeted, per a translation.
Mis expresiones sobre el arresto de la exgobernadora Wanda Vázquez por las autoridades federales pic.twitter.com/DBEKL4sLbS
— Gobernador Pierluisi (@GovPierluisi) August 4, 2022
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Vazquez ascended to the governorship in 2019 after former Gov. Ricardo Rossello resigned amid a torrent of protests in response to leaked Telegram messages from him and members of his staff that contained vulgar and racist language. She assumed office after the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico determined Pierluisi was unconstitutionally sworn into office.
Pierluisi had been nominated to serve as secretary of state by Rossello, but the court determined his appointment was not properly confirmed by Puerto Rico’s legislature. As a result, he was not next in line to be governor following Rossello’s resignation. Vazquez was serving as secretary of justice at the time and was ultimately selected to replace Rossello.
