PR Leader to Fight Corruption Charges

PR Leader to Fight Corruption Charges

By YAISHA VARGAS Associated Press Writer © 2007 The Associated Press

Houston Chronicle

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila on Monday said he will remain in office to fight any possible charges resulting from a two-year federal probe into his campaign finances, which he said was near completion.

Acevedo, who has denied any wrongdoing, told reporters he will remain the U.S. Caribbean territory's top executive regardless of the outcome of the probe into his successful 2000 campaign for resident commissioner, the island's nonvoting delegate to the U.S. Congress.

"I am going to continue doing what I must do for Puerto Rico. Injustices such as this give one greater motivation to do what must be done," said Acevedo, who plans to run for a second term in next year's governorship race.

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican governor, who said his attorneys have informed him that the federal probe was nearly finished, accused U.S. authorities of politically motivated harassment and witness intimidation in the case.

As evidence, Acevedo, a Democrat who publicly acknowledged the U.S. investigation for the first time in June, has said that federal authorities are not probing the campaigns of other Puerto Rican parties, such as the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.

Acevedo is the president of the Popular Democratic Party, which advocates for greater autonomy for the Caribbean island while maintaining its current status as a U.S. commonwealth.
The U.S. investigation into the campaign finances of Acevedo, a Harvard-educated lawyer whose popularity had suffered because of an economic recession and anger over a new sales tax, has been going on for two years. The FBI and Justice Department have consistently declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of an ongoing probe.

During Monday's news conference, Acevedo accused the office of U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez of handling the case, which is gathering momentum a year before general elections in November 2008, with "arrogance" and a "lack of sensitivity."

The U.S. Attorney's office could not immediately be contacted for comment.