The former mayor of Yauco Abel Nazario was sentenced today to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of several charges of issuing false statements around federal Department of Labor funds.
The sentencing hearing was held today, via video conference, before the federal judge Joseph Laplante. The togat also determined that, once he complies with the sentence, Nazario will have to serve an additional two years on probation. On March 21, Nazario was found guilty by a jury of 28 charges of making false statements — five charges of electronic fraud. However, in September, the judge dismissed the convictions for the five charges of electronic fraud.
Before being sentenced, Nazario, also a former senator from the New Progressive Party (PNP), said he accepted the jury’s decision and the judge’s ruling, but has indicated he maintains a “clean conscience.”
“I know that I will no longer be able to do what I love most about dedicating myself to public service … I just ask him to offer me the opportunity to be with my father in the last days of his life,” he said. ask Nazario to Judge Laplante during the virtual hearing. Nazario’s father is 97 years old.
However, after his plea, Laplante questioned Nazario’s motives in segments of his statement and said the ex-senator’s conduct was a “serious crime.” The judge also commented that during the trial, he was able to observe that Nazario was trying to project himself as a “benefactor” with funds that did not belong to him.
“I was struck by an image in which you personally are handing out these checks to your employees. I didn’t feel it was the conduct of a municipal government. It seemed like you wanted to project yourself as a benefactor or a savior. I don’t think that’s the case. it is appropriate. That was not their money or their jobs. It was about money and public places, “the judge noted after Nazario’s statements.
Nazario’s lawyer, María Domínguez, also tried to convince the judge to issue a probation sentence instead of being sent to prison.
“He is not accused of stealing a single penny of public money during his brilliant political career. He has never been alleged to have been involved in acts of public corruption. Assuming the veracity of the facts of his case, and taking the jury’s conviction, his conduct does not deserve a prison sentence. Especially in the face of the risks involved in imprisonment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic ” Nazario in court last February 2nd.
“An evidentiary sentence is sufficient, but not greater than necessary, and will allow the defendant to reach his or her potential as he or she continues to serve his or her community and spend time with his or her aging father,” the legal document says.
After being sentenced, Dominguez asked the judge to place Nazario in a prison near the island – such as Tallahassee or Miami – because there are no federal government prison facilities in Puerto Rico. . Dominguez also alluded to dozens of letters they submitted to the court requesting clemency for Nazario. Among the political figures who sent letters are the former senator of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) Eduardo Bhatia, the senators of the PNP, Henry Neumann, Carmelo Ríos, Gregorio Matías and the neo-progressive representative José Aponte.
Federal prosecutor Scott Anderson, for his part, objected to Dominguez’s approaches and argued 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 the federal government to lie the message we are sending is that there is no harm in deceiving the government. You can go your own way and without serving a sentence.” , said Anderson. “Everything the defendant did [Nazario] it was for their own benefit, “he continued.
In 2018, the federal government accused the former mayor of committing electronic fraud and issuing false statements regarding the use of funds by the federal Department of Labor. The facts for which Nazario was accused date back to 2014 when, after a referral from the Office of the Comptroller, the Federal Department of Labor ordered the municipality to make retroactive payments near 177 employees for a total of $ 588,961.43. This as a result of an investigation by the federal agency that found that the municipality of Yauco had agreed with these employees because they will work two hours a day voluntarily.
Meanwhile, Laplante left it to the discretion of the parties to take an additional look at a discussion about how much money should be returned by Nazario.
Nazario’s defense objected to the federal government’s calculated amount of about $ 34,846.39 as part of the loss of employees ’salaries from which Nazario withheld them from his regular payroll. Nazario’s lawyer, Javier Micheo, proposed that the figure should be reduced to $ 6,600.06. Micheo has exposed that the number had to be reduced since it does not have sufficient evidence the municipality to sustain that these hours were worked. He added that the figure also deserves a reduction due to the fact that many of these employees who testified did not have a contract under the municipality of Yauco.
Anderson objected to Micheo’s approaches that the municipality’s lack of documentation is due to Nazario’s own administration while he was mayor of Yauco for 16 years. “They want to use their failures as mayor in their favor,” Anderson said. “This is the amount owed to the victims,” he added.
Laplante, however, ruled out Nazario’s request for legal representation, but suggested the parties hold a separate hearing to resolve the dispute.