Federal authorities have charged the producer today Sixto George for allegedly attempting to extort the then governor Ricardo Rosselló and an official after posting chat Telegram.
The producer was arrested this morning by authorities and faces three charges of attempted extortion, interstate extortion and destruction of evidence. Sixto Jorge Díaz Colom – the producer’s first name – has allegedly tried to extort Anthony Maceira and then-governor Roussillon on several occasions. The scheme, according to the indictment, was that George – on learning of the existence of a chat Telegram– tried to get money and government contracts in exchange for helping to “fix” the image of the Roussillon administration after the publication of chat.
George was also charged with the crime of destruction of evidence. The initial view against George will be today at 11:30 am
According to the indictment, George learned of the existence of a Telegram chat on February 1, 2019 after “Person 1” —who the prosecution only identifies as a ‘relative’ of ‘Person 2’ “, who was an official of the Roussillon administration assured him that he had” incriminating “information against Roussillon and his main advisers. According to the indictment, “Persona 1” – who could be ‘Rauly’ Maldonado, son of former Secretary of the Treasury Raúl Maldonado – showed Telegram’s chat to George but did not provide him with a copy. .
Then on July 20, 2019, George sent a message to Anthony Maceira, Then Secretary of Public Affairs of the Fortress – and who appears identified as “Person 4” in the federal document – warning about the existence of “evidence” against the administration of Roussillon.
“Look, if Fortress doesn’t stop fucking” Person 2, “” Person 1 “has a lot of evidence to fuck this administration starting with” Person 3. “According to” Person 1, “it’s you and Fortress behind the attack.” person 2 “, reads George’s message to Maceira. according to the federal indictment,” person 2 “could be Raúl Maldonado and” person 3 “would be Roussillon, whom they only identify as a governor who goes hold the position from January 2017 to August 2019.
George then met with Maceira to indicate that Maldonado, son, would have the Telegram chat messages in a folder and that posting these messages could destroy Roussillon, his close associates already members of his party. George would then have asked Maceira to help him with “several” of his government contracts for which he received compensation.
Telegram’s first 11 chat pages were published on July 8, 2019. Then, on July 11, various media outlets published additional Telegram chat pages. Telegram. Finally, on July 13, 2019, the Center for Investigative Journalism published the entire exchange of messages between the former governor and his advisers.
According to the indictment, on July 16, 2019, George met with Maceira and told him that Maldonado, son, had additional Telegram chat messages that would not have been posted and that these messages would have more information. harmful against Roussillon, his advisers and party members, including Maceira.
George told Maceira that Maldonado’s son’s intention was to “provoke a fire in Puerto Rico” by posting these messages. According to George, the messages would not have been published if Maldonado, Jr., had received $ 300,000. The federal indictment states that George would receive the money – on behalf of Maldonado, son – through a corporation of George’s that had no contracts with the government.
As part of the deal, Maceira also had to pay for “talent” and “well-known people in the industry,” who would publicly advocate for Roussillon. The prosecution does not identify these people.
Maceira would also have to “reinstall” contracts with the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget. According to the indictment, George benefited from these contracts. The agreements were not renewed after the removal of Maldonado as head of these agencies on June 24, 2019.
After this meeting, Maceira mentioned to George that he was “afraid” and did not want to “burn himself.”
During the meeting, George sent Maceira by Telegram the names of the companies whose contracts were not renewed at the two agencies.
According to the indictment, on July 19, Maceira indicated to George that he was “working with the disputed.” On July 26, 2019, federal authorities contacted George.
The agreement did not materialize after Roussillon failed to pay the amount requested by George.
The prosecution also notes that on July 26, 2019, George allegedly attempted to destroy and / or cover up the messages he exchanged with Maceira.
See the indictment here:
Ind Extortion, Obstruction of Justice 21-017 1-27-21 by Metro Puerto Rico to Scribd