Prosecutors appointed to investigate the referral filed with the Department of Justice against the former governor Ricardo Rosselló i His wife, Beatriz Areizaga they concluded that it is not possible to determine and prove that the marriage submitted false information in its absentee ballot application in the special election to choose the delegates for the estadidad.
At the end of the investigation, the prosecutors, Gretchen Camacho Rossy and Rufino Jiménez Cardona, determined that Rosselló Nevares and Areizaga García are not domiciled in Puerto Rico, as defined in the Electoral Code of 2020.
The address disclosed to the State Election Commission (EEC) in the absentee ballot applications at College Park in San Juan has never been the domicile of the marriage in accordance with the 2020 Electoral Code and the legal system. “At the College Park house Dr. Rosselló has never carried out regular activities. Certainly, an average person could say that in some uncertain future of the Rosselló Areizaga spouses they could and wanted to return to Puerto Rico. The problem is that the existence of ‘a possibility that, in the uncertain future, a person has the desire to return to Puerto Rico is not enough to be able to be classified as a domiciled voter,’ says the 190-page report issued by Camacho Rossy and Jiménez Cardona.
However, while there is no doubt that the disclosure of this address in absentee ballot applications is neither true nor correct, the Department of Justice is barred from filing charges for violating the Electoral Code, as what the evidence collected does not meet the standard of evidence required for criminal cases.
According to them, there is an inconsistency in the testimonies on essential issues such as the handling, origin, custody and authenticity of absentee voting applications by EEC staff.
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According to the findings, there are two absentee ballot applications for each of these voters; the one certified by the EEC and the one received in an e-mail. None has an oath or legible signature. In addition, EEC witnesses allege that they saw another request, but it was not produced, although it was petitioned by court order.
“Even if the Public Prosecutor’s Office obtains the admission in evidence of the application held by the EEC and of the application sent by e-mail, a result that cannot be seen under the protection of the current legal system, poor management, lack of rigor in compliance and custody, and witnesses say it is not the same document they had before him, questions its provenance, reduces credibility and prevents the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt is the case, “Camacho Rossy explained.
Prosecutors interviewed a total of 33 people, Filed before the Court and registration and violation orders were issued to obtain documentary and digital evidence from the EEC and the Department of Finance. In addition, they required through citation multiplicity of documents from the EEC, the Property Registry, the Department of the Treasury, DTOP, the CRIM, the courts of law, the Department of Transportation of the state of Virginia, and the Division of Motor Vehicles of said state, of the Department of Elections of the state of Virginia. Requirements were also issued for obtaining digital evidence both inside and outside the EEC.
The investigation, which began on June 1, 2021 by the presentation of several reports by the election commissioners of the parties Project Dignidad, Moviment Victòria Ciutadana, Partido Independentista Puerto Rico and Partido Popular Democrático, revolved around the possible violation in articles 12.1 and 12.2 of the Electoral Code, which criminalize the violation of the electoral system and regulations.
“Given the outcome of the investigation, it would be inappropriate for the Department of Justice to present a case that has no evidence to prove the commission of the crime by the couple Roussillon and Areizaga, as required by our system of “Law, especially our Rules of Evidence. The job of the Department of Justice is to conduct fair investigations and prove cases of a criminal nature beyond reasonable doubt, which is the quantum of evidence required in court,” he said. the Secretary of Justice, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, who hosted the report of the officials, who have more than 20 years of experience in the investigation and litigation of high-profile cases.