FILE - A Puerto Rican national flag flies in front of the Capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 29, 2015. The islands two biggest political parties hold gubernatorial primaries on Sunday, June 2, 2024. – Puerto Rico’s Justice Department announced Tuesday that it is suing at least 30 ex-government officials accused of corruption to recover more than $30 million in public funds.
Also sued are eight former mayors including Félix Delgado of Cataño and Ángel Pérez of Guaynabo. Delgado was sentenced to one year in federal prison in March after pleading guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for awarding millions of dollars’ worth of municipal contracts. Pérez was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison in February after being found guilty of bribery and extorsion.
The department also sued two companies: J. R. Asphalt, Inc., and Waste Collection Corp. Federal authorities have previously accused them of being linked to government corruption cases. Several mayors have been arrested by the FBI over alleged corruption since the 2020 elections, with other facing local charges. Other high-profile arrests, unrelated to Tuesday's lawsuits, include former governor of Puerto Rico Wanda Vazquez Garced, who was arrested in 2022 for allegedly bribing several people to finance her 2020 gubernatorial election campaign.