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Ex-Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez busted in bribery scheme with banker, former FBI agent
[NYPOST] Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez was arrested Thursday in a bribery scheme in which she allegedly pushed out a high-ranking government official in exchange for more than $300,000 to help her 2020 campaign.Vázquez, 62, is accused of working out the bribes with conspirators who included a former FBI agent, a Venezuelan Italian bank owner and a political consultant, according to the Department of Justice. “Public corruption erodes the people’s trust in our institutions and fuels civil unrest,” Joseph González, special agent in charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office, said in a statement. “No one is above the law and the victim of this crime, the People, deserve better.” Vázquez, the second woman to serve as Puerto Rico’s governor, was elected in 2019 after mass protests forced her predecessor from office — and she once listed fighting corruption as a top priority for her administration in an interview with the Associated Press. But the DOJ said Vázquez agreed to accept a bribe in exchange for replacing the head of Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, which was scrutinizing an international bank operating in San Juan. Related: Wanda Vázquez: 2020-11-12 Puerto Rico unearths more than 100 briefcases of uncounted ballots 1 week after election Wanda Vázquez: 2020-10-07 Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced endorses Trump's re-election bid Wanda Vázquez: 2019-08-13 New Puerto Rico governor suspends contract to rebuild power grid Posted by: Fred 2022-08-05 |
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