Puerto Rico mayor pleads guilty to federal corruption charges
A mayor in Puerto Rico pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy to commit bribery and receive kickbacks after he was accused of awarding 50 contracts worth almost $10 million to an asphalt company.
After resigning on Tuesday, Félix Delgado, who was the mayor of the town of Cataño, will be sentenced in March 2022 and faces up to five years in prison, according to The Associated Press.
U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow said Delgado met with the company's owner between 2017 to 2021 to receive watches and cash as part of the scheme, the AP said.
The AP also reported that officials confiscated five luxury watches and over $100,000 in cash as part of the case, according to Muldrow.
"The scheme ... was not very complicated," Muldrow added.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted the asphalt company's owner on three counts including bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery and kickbacks. He faces up to 20 years in prison, per the AP.
The legal actions come amid other trouble for a Puerto Rican power company after a judge ordered the CEO of that company, Wayne Stensby, to be arrested for not turning over documents requested by lawmakers.
Stensby did turn over a majority of documents that were requested, but the company requested more time to fulfill the last two requests.
