Federal prosecutors to offer plea bargain to ex-Guaynabo mayor
By The Star Staff
Federal prosecutors are slated to make a plea bargain to the defense attorneys representing former Guaynabo Mayor Ángel Pérez Otero and give him two weeks to decide whether to accept the offer or go to trial.
Pérez Otero was arrested in December and charged with bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and extortion as a public official, related to an alleged corruption scheme.
The information came out during a status hearing on the case before federal judge Aida Delgado Colón, who presides over the case against Pérez Otero, who also was a president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Federation.
Judge Delgado Colón instructed the prosecution to file the possible offer by Friday and granted the defense two weeks to evaluate it and make a counter offer.
She agreed to hold another status hearing next month and set aside two weeks in the event that Pérez Otero does not accept the plea bargain.
The federal prosecutor’s office and the ex-mayor’s legal counsel are slated to present five witnesses each.
The indictment against Pérez Otero said that between 2019 and 2021, he received money on a regular basis from a contractor in exchange for contracts with the municipality. The prosecution showed videos of him taking what appeared to be kickbacks.
Pérez Otero’s arrest was part of a broad corruption scheme involving asphalt and garbage collection companies.
If found guilty, Pérez Otero faces up to five years in prison on the charge of receiving kickbacks, up to 10 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, and up to 20 years in prison on the extortion charge.