The former mayor of Yauco Abel Nazario was sentenced to today 18 months in prison after finding him guilty of multiple charges of issue false statements about federal Labor Department funds.
The sentencing hearing was held today by videoconference before a federal judge Joseph LaplanteThe cloak has also determined that, once he fulfills the sentence, Nazario will have to serve two more years under guarded liberty. On March 21, Nazario was found guilty by a jury on 28 false statements and five times on fraud. In September, however, the judge threw out the convictions on all five counts of wire fraud.
Before his conviction, Nazario, also a former senator of the New Progressive Party (PNP), assured that he accepted the jury’s decision and the judge’s decision, but indicated that he maintains a “clear conscience.”
“I know I will no longer be able to do what I love to do, which is to commit myself to public service … I am only asking you to give me the opportunity to be with my father in his last days of life, “Nazario asked Judge Laplante during the virtual hearing. Nazario’s father is 97 years old.
Following his plea, however, Laplante questioned Nazario’s motives in parts of his statement, assuring the former senator’s behavior to be a “serious crime.” The judge also noted that during the trial he could observe that Nazario was trying to profile himself as a “benefactor” with funds that were not his.
“I was struck by an image where you hand over these checks to your employees personally. I didn’t feel like it was a municipal government act. It seemed you wanted to profile yourself as a benefactor or savior. not appropriate. That was not their money or their job. It was about money and public positions, “the judge said after Nazario’s statements.
Nazario’s lawyer, María Domínguez, also tried to convince the judge to issue probation rather than send him to prison.
“During his brilliant political career, not a penny of public money would have been stolen against him. He would never have been involved in public corruption. Assuming the facts of your case are true and the jury has been convicted, your conduct does not deserve a prison sentence. Especially considering the risks associated with incarceration during the COVID-19 pandemic, ” said the motion that Nazario’s legal defense filed in court on Feb. 2.
“Probation is sufficient, but no longer than necessary, and will allow the suspect to achieve his potential while continuing to serve his community and spend time with his elderly father,” the legal document reads.
After being convicted, Domínguez asked the judge to put Nazario in a prison near the island – like Tallahassee or Miami – because there are no federal government prison facilities in Puerto Rico. Domínguez also referred to dozens of letters they filed with the court seeking pardon for Nazario. Political figures who sent letters include former Popular Democratic Party (PPD) Senator Eduardo Bhatia, PNP Senators Henry Neumann, Carmelo Ríos, Gregorio Matías and new Progressive Representative José Aponte.
Federal prosecutor Scott Anderson, in turn, objected to Domínguez’s proposals, arguing that Nazario was responsible for his own actions and was the only one who decided to commit these crimes. “Politicians must be judged to a higher standard. If we allow them to lie to the federal government, the message we are sending is that there is nothing wrong with defrauding the government. You can go ahead without punishment. to sit, ”said Anderson. “Everything the defendant did [Nazario] it was for his own benefit, ”he continued.
In 2018, the federal government accused the former branch president of committing electronic fraud and making false statements about the handling of Federal Department of Labor funds. The events for which Nazario was charged date back to 2014 when, following a referral from the Comptroller’s Office, the federal labor department ordered the council to make retroactive payments to approximately 177 employees for a total of $ 588,961.43. This was the result of an investigation by the federal service which showed that the municipality of Yauco had agreed with these employees to work two hours a day on a voluntary basis.
Meanwhile, Laplante left it up to the parties to hold an additional hearing to discuss the amount to be repaid by Nazario.
Nazario’s defense objected to the federal government’s estimated amount of $ 34,846.39 as part of the wage loss for employees whose wages Nazario had withheld from their regular payroll. Nazario’s attorney, Javier Micheo, said the amount should be reduced to $ 6,600.06. Micheo argued that the figure should be reduced as there is not enough evidence from the council to support that these hours were worked. He added that the figure deserves a cut as well, as many of these workers who testified were not under contract under the Yauco Municipality.
Anderson objected to Micheo’s claim that the borough’s lack of documentation is due to Nazario’s own administration, while he was mayor of Yauco for 16 years. “They want to use his failures as mayor to their advantage,” Anderson said. “This is the amount owed to the victims,” he added.
Laplante, however, turned down Nazario’s request for legal representation, but suggested that the parties hold a separate hearing to resolve this dispute.