SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico-Today, U.S. District Court Judge Pedro A. Delgado-Hernández sentenced former Administrator of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s “Administración de Desarrollo Laboral" (Workforce Development Administration) Sally López-Martínez to 9 years of imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release for committing offenses against the US government, announced U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez- Vélez. The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Public Corruption Squad.
López-Martínez was found guilty on October 7, 2016, after a 25-day jury trial. She was originally indicted in December 2015 along with nine other defendants, on charges of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and honest services wire fraud, wire fraud, federal program bribery, extortion through fear of economic harm, money laundering, false declarations before a grand jury, and obstruction of justice. A jury found López-Martínez guilty of Count One, Conspiracy to Commit Federal Programs Fraud and Wire Fraud; Count Two, Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud; Counts Three to Five, Honest Services Wire Fraud; and Count Eleven, Receipt of a Bribe by Agent of an Organization Receiving Federal Funds.
In the same trial, Ivonne M. Falcón Nieves, her sister Marielis Falcón Nieves, and Glenn O. Rivera Pizarro were found guilty of all charges and are awaiting sentencing. Prior to the trial, six other defendants had pleaded guilty.
At trial co-defendant Anaudi Hernández-Pérez testified that he and his co-conspirators utilized their government influence to receive an unfair competitive advantage over their competitors, obtained many contracts with different entities from the Government of Puerto Rico, and enriched themselves.
“Today, a former public servant was sentenced to prison for using her position of power in government for unjust enrichment," said U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “This defendant was entrusted with performing her duties honestly and ethically. While hundreds of government employees live up to that important duty every day, we will hold accountable those few who run afoul of the law."
The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division. The case was prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Henwood and José Capó Iriarte, Chief of the Criminal Division and Assistant US Attorney Susan Z. Jorgensen.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
