Puerto Rican Mayor Pleads Guilty as Bribery Scheme Unravels

A Puerto Rican mayor elected last year has pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery scheme. Félix Delgado Montalvo, 40, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to solicit and accept bribes, according to…

IJR SyndicatedDec 4, 20213 min read

Sponsored

Puerto Rico

, according to another Justice Department

news release

.

“Today’s announcement makes clear that the citizens of the District of Puerto Rico expect their public officials to act with honesty and integrity, and not for personal gain,” he said.

📺 Embedded media — coming soon

“Public Corruption takes resources away from those who need it most and into the pockets of those who are sworn to serve the people,” said Joseph González, special agent in charge of the FBI in Puerto Rico. “This behavior hurts the people’s trust in our institutions and undermines the work of honest officials who genuinely want to make a difference.”

“This is why we will not allow this kind of behavior to go unpunished. There is still much work to be done and I want to thank our local partners for their assistance in this case and continued support of the FBI mission,” he said.

Muldrow said the bribery scheme was “not very complicated,” according to The San Juan Daily Star.

“Villegas and Delgado met in various places in the municipality of Cataño to deliver bribes in the form of cash or watches to the former mayor. At one point, during the commission of that scheme, Villegas told Delgado to go out of his way to hide what was happening.”

Muldrow said anyone involved in government Corruption should report it to authorities.

“I repeat: To any person who has participated or is participating in any criminal conduct, including public Corruption, I urge you to contact us,” Muldrow said.

“The value of your cooperation and any potential benefits to you is much greater the earlier you do so,” he said.

Delgado Montalvo is part of the New Progressive Party, which advocates for Puerto Rican statehood.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.