The FBI should investigate Luis Fortuño, former governor of Puerto Rico

The FBI should investigate Luis Fortuño, former governor of Puerto Rico

La causa

During his four years as governor of Puerto Rico. Fortuño appropriated $100 million of the island’s budget for the Fideicomiso de Ciencias. This was supposed to fund scientific projects all over Puerto Rico: wind and solar energy research, clean-up technology for the Martin Peña channel, infrastructure improvements for PREPA.

But these never happened, because Fortuño “re-appropriated” the money for “other uses.” (see“Banquete Total,” pp. 68-69 by local political analyst Jay Fonseca).

The moment Fortuño tried to do this, one of the trustees of the Fideicomiso publicly opposed him. He even circulated a petition to stop the governor:

https://www.change.org/p/we-urge-the-government-of-puerto-rico-to-support-the-trusts-autonomy

One year later, Fortuño took the $100 million, and three trustees of the Fideicomiso resigned in disgust:

http://www.noticel.com/noticia/133884/administracion-fortuno-pasa-aplanadora-en-fideicomiso-de-ciencia.html

To this day, no one knows where that $100 million finally went. It simply disappeared from the Fideicomiso.

This money disappeared along with another $4,863,000,000 (nearly $5 billion) for “orientation, publicity, consulting and personal services” contracts all over the island. To this day, no one knows where all this money went, or who received it.

http://www.metro.pr/locales/tsunami-de-contratos-privados-en-administracion-de-luis-fortuno/pGXmeg!hX9jixYJTT1E/

Actually, that is not entirely true. We do know where $22.8 million of the money went. It was paid in legal fees to the Washington D.C. law firm of Steptoe & Johnson…the same law firm that later hired Luis Fortuño, when he lost his re-election for governor.

Here is an article that mentions one of Steptoe & Johnson working for 

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/11/thedc-exclusive-a-secret-6-billion-bailout-for-puerto-rico/

http://www.noticel.com/noticia/136392/bufete-agradecido-le-da-trabajo-a-fortuno-en-washington-dc.html

http://www.steptoe.com/professionals-Luis_Fortuno.html

In other words, Luis Fortuño funded his own partnership and salary at Steptoe & Johnson, with $22.8 million in Puerto Rican tax dollars. But he says "he was given permission" by the Government Ethics Office who's head at the time was named by him.

We demand to know how someone starts working in public office as Resident Commissioner with an annual income of less than a million but increases their wealth while in public office to $6 million.

https://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/summary.php?year=2004&cid=N00026264

http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/Net-Worth-House-Millionaires.pdf

We want the FBI to investigate what happened to the $4,863,000,000 that Fortuño used for “orientation, publicity, consulting and personal services” contracts all over the island. We demand to know if there was an illegal conflict of interest between Luis Fortuño and Steptoe & Johnson, and we demand to know how an elected official increases their wealth into the millions while simultaneously taking austerity measures such as firing 30,000 people in an island with a multi-billion dollar deficit.

We are tired of the US media portraying Luis Fortuño in an extremely positive light while the reality is much different and thousands are now suffering for it.

Esta petición conseguió 8,799 firmas

La causa

During his four years as governor of Puerto Rico. Fortuño appropriated $100 million of the island’s budget for the Fideicomiso de Ciencias. This was supposed to fund scientific projects all over Puerto Rico: wind and solar energy research, clean-up technology for the Martin Peña channel, infrastructure improvements for PREPA.

But these never happened, because Fortuño “re-appropriated” the money for “other uses.” (see“Banquete Total,” pp. 68-69 by local political analyst Jay Fonseca).

The moment Fortuño tried to do this, one of the trustees of the Fideicomiso publicly opposed him. He even circulated a petition to stop the governor:

https://www.change.org/p/we-urge-the-government-of-puerto-rico-to-support-the-trusts-autonomy

One year later, Fortuño took the $100 million, and three trustees of the Fideicomiso resigned in disgust:

http://www.noticel.com/noticia/133884/administracion-fortuno-pasa-aplanadora-en-fideicomiso-de-ciencia.html

To this day, no one knows where that $100 million finally went. It simply disappeared from the Fideicomiso.

This money disappeared along with another $4,863,000,000 (nearly $5 billion) for “orientation, publicity, consulting and personal services” contracts all over the island. To this day, no one knows where all this money went, or who received it.

http://www.metro.pr/locales/tsunami-de-contratos-privados-en-administracion-de-luis-fortuno/pGXmeg!hX9jixYJTT1E/

Actually, that is not entirely true. We do know where $22.8 million of the money went. It was paid in legal fees to the Washington D.C. law firm of Steptoe & Johnson…the same law firm that later hired Luis Fortuño, when he lost his re-election for governor.

Here is an article that mentions one of Steptoe & Johnson working for 

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/11/thedc-exclusive-a-secret-6-billion-bailout-for-puerto-rico/

http://www.noticel.com/noticia/136392/bufete-agradecido-le-da-trabajo-a-fortuno-en-washington-dc.html

http://www.steptoe.com/professionals-Luis_Fortuno.html

In other words, Luis Fortuño funded his own partnership and salary at Steptoe & Johnson, with $22.8 million in Puerto Rican tax dollars. But he says "he was given permission" by the Government Ethics Office who's head at the time was named by him.

We demand to know how someone starts working in public office as Resident Commissioner with an annual income of less than a million but increases their wealth while in public office to $6 million.

https://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/summary.php?year=2004&cid=N00026264

http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/Net-Worth-House-Millionaires.pdf

We want the FBI to investigate what happened to the $4,863,000,000 that Fortuño used for “orientation, publicity, consulting and personal services” contracts all over the island. We demand to know if there was an illegal conflict of interest between Luis Fortuño and Steptoe & Johnson, and we demand to know how an elected official increases their wealth into the millions while simultaneously taking austerity measures such as firing 30,000 people in an island with a multi-billion dollar deficit.

We are tired of the US media portraying Luis Fortuño in an extremely positive light while the reality is much different and thousands are now suffering for it.

Los tomadores de decisiones

Tom Rust
Tom Rust
US Ethics Committee, Chief Counsel & Staff Director
Douglas A. Leff
Douglas A. Leff
FBI Special Agent in Charge of San Juan Division
Oficina de Ética Gubernamental de Puerto Rico
Oficina de Ética Gubernamental de Puerto Rico
Lcdo. Rafael Ortiz Carrión
Lcdo. Rafael Ortiz Carrión
Subsecretario de Justicia
Lcda. Sofía Rosado Wojna
Lcda. Sofía Rosado Wojna
Oficina del Secretario de Justicia - Ayudante Especial

Actualizaciones de la petición