House Judiciary Committee Chairman Orlando Aponte Rosario
By THE STAR STAFF
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing Monday on the operations of the Department of Justice and its alleged mishandling of criminal investigations.
Committee Chairman Orlando Aponte Rosario made the announcement Thursday.
The first deponent will be Betzaida Quiñonez, who recently remarked that she was pressured into hindering the investigation into the murder of Kevin Fret, a reggaeton performer.
House Resolution 269 orders the committee to carry out a broad and exhaustive investigation into the operations of the Department of Justice, among other law enforcement agencies, to investigate the aforementioned allegations of paralyzation of criminal probes as well as assignment relief, in some cases of vertical assignment in some district attorney’s offices. The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 pm.
“Our objective with this investigation is to give citizens the certainty that all criminal cases that the Department of Justice will handle are transparent and with no motivation other than to prosecute those responsible for crimes,” Aponte said. “In addition, every judicial branch employee and the people affected in criminal cases must have the peace of mind that they will find justice through government institutions.”
To conduct the investigation, among other documents, Aponte asked Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández for a copy of the letter of resignation from Janet Parra, a former prosecutor, and the letter accepting her resignation.
In addition, he requested a copy of any manual, regulation, administrative memorandum or communication that serves as a guide for assigning cases vertically to prosecutors.
He also requested copies of any manual, regulation, department memo, or communication that guides the filing of internal complaints against prosecutors.
the Puerto Rico department of justice should also be investigated.