Puerto Rico mayor and finance director charged with corruption

The mayor and finance director of one of Puerto Rico’s largest cities are being charged with corruption after a judge found sufficient evidence to arrest them, The Associated Press reported. 

The mayor of the western coastal city Mayaguez, Jose Guillermo Rodriguez, and its finance director, Yahaira Valentín Andrades, allegedly diverted $9 million in public funds that were meant to improve a local trauma center and used the funds to make high-risk investments. 

Judge Iraida Rodríguez Castro of the San Juan Court found sufficient evidence of their alleged crimes on Wednesday, leading to their arrest warrants. 

According to Rodriguez’s lawyer, Harry Padilla, there is insufficient evidence to lead to his client’s arrest. 

Puerto Rico’s Governor Pedro Pierluisi demanded Rodriguez’s immediate resignation. 

The mayor and the finance director are the latest Puerto Rican government officials to face corruption charges amid a widespread crackdown on illegal practices.

In early May, the U.S. Department of Justice arrested two of the island’s mayors and charged them with corruption. Javier Garcia-Perez, Mayor of Aguas Buenas, and Reinaldo Vargas-Rodriguez, Mayor of Huamaco, face up to 20 years in prison each. 

Similarly, in December of last year, Felix Delgado-Montalvo, the mayor of Cataño, pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery scheme in which he received cash payments in exchange for handing out municipal contracts to a company.