Abogado de Héctor Martínez llama mentiroso a De Castro Font

miércoles, 23 de junio de 2010
09:21 a.m.
Rosita Marrero / Primera Hora

El abogado del senador Héctor Martínez, Abbe D. Lowell, proclamó la inocencia de su defendido y señaló al convicto ex senador Jorge De Castro Font como un mentiroso.

Lowell rechazó las imputaciones que se le hacen a Martínez y sostuvo, mediante comunicado de prensa, que el viaje que Martínez realizó a Las Vegas para una pelea de boxeo no tuvo que ver con trabajo ni con política. Afirmó que el mismo fue recreativo.

Sin embargo, en el pliego acusatorio se señala que mientras Martínez y De Castro Font estaban en Las Vegas con el empresario Juan Bravo –quien pagó los gastos- para ver la pelea entre Félix "Tito" Trinidad y Ronald Wright, los legisladores discutieron la manera de lograr que se aprobaran los proyectos 410 y 471 que beneficiarían a la empresa American Ranger.

Martínez y Bravo se entregaron esta mañana en el tribunal federal, luego de que un Gran Jurado los acusara ayer por cargos de conspiración, soborno y viajar en el comercio interestatal para presuntamente cometer crímenes organizados.

A continuación, lee las expresiones de Lowell (en inglés):

"Five years ago, three men went to see Puerto Rico’s then favorite fighter Tito Trinidad in a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. It was not for politics, it was not for favors and it was not for business – it was for fun.

After investigating for what they said was corruption, the Washington D.C. Justice Department found nothing more than this one trip to accuse one of the most promising young Puerto Rican legislators, Hector Martinez, and one of the most successful and respected businessmen, Juan Bravo with bribery. The charges are nonsense. There were no bags of cash, no secret meetings, no special favors—just a trip for a few hundred dollars—hardly something that would cause corruption.

Neither man went on this trip, paid for any expenses or took any official or business action to corrupt the other. The legislation, the prosecutors say, was the heart of their so-called scheme – important shopping center security and private detective regulations – were widely supported and had nothing to do with the trip. And what emphasizes the thin corruption case, the prosecutors have had to add a last minute flimsy obstruction charge to the stale corruption charges revived from five years ago.

What is worse, to justify the time and resources they spent in the investigation, the Washington Justice Department has stooped to base their case on the word of convicted felon and disgraced former legislator Jorge De Castro Font. Reports indicate that Mr. De Castro Font, has admitted being a liar and an extorter, is still under Puerto Rico charges, his wife has accused him of different misconduct, he is under a court order to stay away from her, and recently checked himself in for psychiatric treatment. He is hardly someone on whom the Justice Department should rely.

This is a sad day for Hector Martinez and his family, that after so much work and service he now has to answer these unsubstantiated charges. But it is a sadder day for the justice system when Washington prosecutors can spend so much time and so much money to investigate and come up with so little to justify their efforts.

But clear his name he will. We ask everyone to remember that Senator Martinez deserves the presumption of innocence and that his lifetime of good work undercuts these allegations. He looks forward to having all the evidence heard in court instead of the secret proceedings the Justice Department uses to charge individuals. There, these charges will be proved false, and Senator Martinez will be shown to be the honest public servant you know him to be".

Arrestos de Héctor Martínez y Juan Bravo

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