Puerto Rican governor faces 19 counts

The unsealing of the indictments has resulted in coverage in major newspapers and other media in the states.
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Yahoo! Alerts Yahoo! News - My Alerts
Thursday, March 27, 2008 7:47 AM PDT

Puerto Rico Governor Charged
Time Magazine Thu, 27 Mar 2008 6:07 AM PDT
A law enforcement official says Puerto Rico's governor has been charged in a long-running public corruption probe in the US island territory

U.S. charges Puerto Rico governor in campaign finance probe
CNN.com Thu, 27 Mar 2008 7:25 AM PDT
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)-- Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila has been charged with 19 counts in a long-running campaign finance probe.

Puerto Rico gov charged in campaign probe
MSNBC Thu, 27 Mar 2008 5:45 AM PDT
U.S. authorities have announced an indictment charging Puerto Rico's governor with 18 counts in a long-running campaign finance probe.

Puerto Rico's Governor Faces Indictment
CBS News Thu, 27 Mar 2008 7:30 AM PDT
U.S. authorities have indicted Puerto Rico's governor Anibal Acevedo Vila and 12 other party members with allegedly conspiring to illegally raise money to pay off Acevedo's campaign debts in 2000.

Puerto Rico governor indicted on federal criminal charges
USA Today Thu, 27 Mar 2008 6:37 AM PDT
Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila was charged today with 18 counts of corruption, according to the Associated Press. The wire service says federal prosecutors announced that they're filing charges against Acevedo and 12 others. The defendants are accused of...

Puerto Rico governor among those charged in campaign probe, official says
The Washington Times Thu, 27 Mar 2008 6:38 AM PDT
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila is among several people named in a sealed indictment, officials...

Puerto Rico governor indicted in campaign finance probe
Miami Herald Thu, 27 Mar 2008 5:33 AM PDT
The governor of Puerto Rico and at least 12 others, including members of his campaign finance committee,b were indicted in San Juan in the culmination of a three-year investigation into the governor's campaign finances, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office on the island.

Puerto Rico governor among those charged in campaign probe, official says
KXXV Waco Thu, 27 Mar 2008 5:51 AM PDT
Associated Press - March 27, 2008 8:43 AM ET SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)- A law enforcement official says Puerto Rico's governor has been charged in a long-running public corruption probe in...

US Makes Arrests in Puerto Rico Probe
The Daily Comet Thu, 27 Mar 2008 5:22 AM PDT
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico U.S. authorities have made the first arrests in a long-running probe into the finances of the party of Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila.
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This is really a big time news event. Finally, the indictments were made and now unsealed. We better fasten our seat belts as this story unfolds. It is going to be shocking!

The official release from the U.S. Justice Department, posted by Gringo In Puerto Rico here on Topix, is an excellent reliable source. I hope the U.S. Justice Department will issue official releases as this case develops.

Free Puerto Rico!!!!!!!!!!

TainoWarrior wrote:

Free Puerto Rico!!!!!!!!!!

In recent elections, less than five percent of Puerto Rican voters wanted independence.

Around forty-seven percent of Puerto Ricans want statehood or the status quo of Commonwealth.

Generally, Commonwealth was voted over statehood by only a few percentage points. The Commonwealth status definitions were not constitutional accurate. Commonwealth was defined as all this and heaven too.

To have the U.S. Congress consider statehood, there would need to be a strong majority voting for statehood.

One status that is obviously not perferred is independence. Independentistas are a very tiny group of voters that manage to make a lot of loud noise for their few numbers.

If AAV is found to be guilty by a jury of his peers, it could hurt the cause for Commonwealth.

Currently, almost 95% of Puerto Ricans desire some kind of permanent relationship with the United States. Less than five percent want to be freed.

The Decolonization Committee of the United SNations will decide the fate of Pueto Rico as a Territory, Free Associated State or outright Independence...

I predict firmly and with conviction that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico will be incorporated into a Free Association Pact like the Federation of Micornesia States in the Pacific and get the nitemares of territory status out of the Caribbean......

At the same time, The United States will close GITMO or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a further gesture towards a hands off policy of the Caribbean.....The presence of the United States will no longer will be established in the Caribbean......

Good riddance to everyone....

Well Bob, you were right all along about this!

Text of the indictment:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/March/crm-in...

Orlando Sentinel in late edition today....

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila was charged Thursday with 19 counts in a campaign finance probe, including conspiracy to violate U.S. federal campaign laws and giving false testimony to the FBI.

The indictment also charged 12 others associated with Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party as a result of a two-year grand jury investigation, acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said.

The 13 are accused of conspiring to illegally raise money to pay off Acevedo's campaign debts from his 2000 campaign to be the U.S. island territory's nonvoting member of Congress.

Acevedo, now running for re-election as governor, will not be arrested, Rodriguez said. But at least five others named in the indictment were led in handcuffs into the U.S. federal building in San Juan early Thursday morning.

"The governor will be permitted to turn himself in deference to his position," she said.

Acevedo has called the campaign finance probe a case of political persecution by federal officials, partly for his criticism of a September 2005 FBI raid in which a fugitive militant Puerto Rican independence leader was killed.

His allegation has support in Puerto Rico, where many feel a deep-rooted nationalism and hostility toward the U.S. federal government.

A Harvard-educated attorney and career politician, Acevedo, 45, served in Washington as the island's nonvoting delegate to Congress, and was elected governor in 2004 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform.