WORLD> America
|
WORLD> America
|
|
US judge tosses some charges against PR governor
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-02 10:10 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A US judge has thrown out most of the federal corruption charges against Puerto Rico's governor, who faces trial in February for alleged campaign finance violations.
The judge on Monday dismissed 15 of the 24 charges against Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila. All but two were dismissed with prejudice and cannot be filed again. Defense attorney Thomas Green described the ruling as a blow to prosecutors. "There's no common thread that weaves all the charges together, but it certainly cuts out a big part of the case," Green said by telephone from his office in Washington. A federal indictment handed down in March accuses Acevedo of conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws and defraud the Internal Revenue Service, and giving false testimony to the FBI. The governor, who has denied any wrongdoing, faces trial Feb. 9. Most of the dropped charges were related to an alleged scheme to illegally obtain $7 million in public financing for his 2004 gubernatorial campaign. Judge Paul Barbadoro found the fraud charges were based on a faulty interpretation of Puerto Rican election law. The US attorney's office in San Juan said prosecutors are considering their options and evaluating "several alternatives." They did not disclose specifics. "The dismissal of the charges of electronic fraud was not based on insufficiency of the evidence ... but on a strictly legal interpretation of the electoral law of Puerto Rico," a statement from the US attorney's office said. The judge left intact charges related to Acevedo's earlier campaigns for the island's nonvoting seat in Congress and an alleged conspiracy to hide donations from the IRS. Acevedo lost a bid for a second term last month and is due to leave office in January. Green said he was traveling on Monday and unavailable for comment. |
