Filing of charges by the Independent Special Prosecutor Panel (PFEI) against former representative Ramón Rodríguez Ruiz, accompanied by his attorney, Lorenzo Román. (Juan R. Costa / NotiCel)
The Court of First Instance of San Juan decreed “denied” a motion to dismiss filed by the former representative of the New Progressive Party (PNP), Ramón Rodríguez Ruiz, who sought to free himself of the charges of fraud and interference in government operations that are attributed to him for the creation of phantom non-profit entities to obtain legislative funds.
The crimes attributed to him, meanwhile, deprived other non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico of being benefited by the donations that were assigned to them, in this case $8,000 to Lazos Dorados de Amor and $4,000 to Futuros Deportistas, Inc.
The resolution of Judge Gisela Alfonso Fernández, dated August 20, gives an account of the testimony of seven witnesses of the Independent Special Prosecutor Panel (PFEI), who confirmed that Rodríguez Ruiz ordered the two entities to be created and money to be requested from the Special Joint Commission on Legislative Funds, although they did not have the basic requirements of, for example, tax exemption.
“The witness clarified that, although the disbursement of those public funds did not materialize, it had an effect on the budget, since, as that money had already been allocated, it could not be reassigned that year to some entity that did comply with the legal requirements,” summarized the Superior Judge, in reference to the testimony of Alfredo Martínez Amador, director of that Commission, who was also the one who ordered the disbursement halted upon noticing the irregularities.
The witness, according to the document, specified that in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Ethics of the House of Representatives, Rodríguez Ruiz could not participate in the process of evaluation and recommendation of those entities nor belong to any, which was disregarded.
Rodríguez Ruiz's defense filed the motion to dismiss this past May 20, in which they alleged that there was a total absence of evidence against the former official after the preliminary hearing was completed, the parade of the seven witnesses, their examinations and cross-examinations, and the reading of the accusation.
To achieve probable cause for trial, the PFEI only had to present a “scintilla” of evidence, a matter alluded to by the San Juan Judge.
“The standard for the determination of probable cause at the preliminary hearing is not that of beyond reasonable doubt required at a trial on the merits, but a scintilla on which to support a prima facie determination that the accused committed the imputed crimes. The defense did not manage to demonstrate the total absence of evidence in the determinations it sought to challenge,” determined Judge Alfonso Fernández.
Rodríguez Ruiz's defense has been composed of attorneys Luis Pinto Andino, Luis Noel Rodríguez Ruiz, José H. Lorenzo Román and Chaka Bermúdez Allende, who have 60 days to appeal the determination.
In previous statements, the PFEI —attorneys Guillermo Garau Díaz and Cándida Sellés Ríos— indicated that auditors of the Division of Data, Digital Forensics and Technological Development Affairs of the Office of the Comptroller confirmed the use of Capitol computers to create the organizations Lazos Dorados de Amor and Futuros Deportistas.
During the preliminary hearing, a former employee of Rodríguez Ruiz detailed how, by orders of the then representative, the “dummy” of the entities was “set up” without the presence of the persons who were supposed to administer them or fulfill their charitable missions, an account summarized in the “denied” resolution.
According to the testimony, the employee was given a handwritten paper with the personal information of the members who would form part of the corporation, whom she could not contact by telephone to fill in pending information.
Instead, Rodríguez Ruiz indicated to her that the remaining procedures would be completed through his connections with the PNP.
Rodríguez Ruiz was summoned on Thursday morning together with Soniel Torres Suárez, who was the director of his legislative office at the Capitol. The former employee, who waived her preliminary hearing, was accused of perjury, embezzlement of funds, fraud, witness tampering, and ideological falsehood, also in relation to the non-profit entities and the withdrawal of a gender violence complaint against Rodríguez Ruiz.
According to the prosecutors, part of the accusations rest on the fact that both acted in concert and common agreement for the fraud of the non-profit entities.
Rodríguez Ruiz was expelled from the House of Representatives in February 2018. The next hearing is scheduled for October 10.
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