PDP: Family secretary’s prior involvement in $60,000 contract looks like public corruption.
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) delegation in the island Senate called Monday for the immediate resignation of Family Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes, citing allegations that she used prior government posts to steer contracts and pressure service providers to subcontract with a private firm linked to a person with whom she previously had a contractual relationship.
The allegations were aired at a news conference held by the PDP minority delegation, which said it recently received information in response to a public-records request filed April 16. The delegation’s spokesperson said publicly available information suggests that while Roig Fuertes served as director of the Department of Health’s Intellectual Disability Division, she “arranged a contract worth $60,000 per month” to care for a single participant and sought to have the facility caring for that person subcontract a security company whose president had previously done business with her.
The demand adds to mounting political pressure around the handling of the Health Department’s internal findings and the Justice Department’s decision to archive the case last fall. The senators on Monday framed the issue as both an ethics question and a test of the government’s willingness to disclose investigative records when senior officials are accused of leveraging public authority to benefit private interests.
According to information cited by the lawmakers, the owner of the facility reported the alleged intervention by Roig Fuertes to the appropriate authorities, prompting an internal review at the Department of Health. The delegation said that review ended with Roig Fuertes being removed as division director and that the matter was referred to the Puerto Rico Department of Justice for further evaluation.
The PDP delegation said the Justice Department later opted to close the case on Oct. 30, 2025, a decision that came after Roig Fuertes had already been appointed as family secretary. The senators said the closure has fueled questions about how the investigation was handled, noting that people involved in the matter have said they were never interviewed by Justice Department personnel.
Sen. Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz, the PDP minority leader, said he found that account difficult to reconcile with the seriousness of the allegations.
“As an attorney and as a citizen, this is surprising, because there are several people who could have been interviewed by the Justice Department,” he said.
Hernández Ortiz said the delegation requested the investigative file and the report from the Division of Public Integrity and Comptroller Affairs and from the Department of Health.
Alternate Minority Leader Marially González Huertas said Roig Fuertes served as director of the Department of Health’s Intellectual Disability Division from Feb. 1, 2021, to Jan. 26, 2022. She said that on March 18, 2022, the Department of Health submitted an investigative report to the office of then-Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández concerning allegations tied to a $60,000-per-month payment for services for a single participant. González Huertas said the report also referred the matter to the Office of Government Ethics and concluded that the Health Department had identified possible violations of multiple laws. She said the report alleges Roig Fuertes used her position to favor the hiring of One Source Investigations LLC and instructed Health service providers -- specifically Hogar Hacienda Don Luis, administered by Eliud Colón García -- to contract with the company.
The delegation further alleged that Roig Fuertes pressed to raise compensation for Hogar Hacienda Don Luis from $29,424 -- the amount in its original proposal -- to $60,000 per month for the participant’s care, and then pushed the provider to subcontract One Source in a way that would benefit the company.
“All of this happened without the company promoted by Roig going through the Puerto Rico government’s contracting process,” one senator said. “If this is not corruption, tell me what it is.”
The senators argued the allegations resemble other public-corruption cases that have led to criminal charges in Puerto Rico. They said a document signed by then-Health Secretary Dr. Carlos Mellado López described conduct that could amount to crimes, including illicit enrichment and unjustified enrichment.
Sen. Josian Santiago Rivera said Health Department attorneys interviewed several people during the agency’s internal review, including Eliud Colón, administrator of Hogar Hacienda Don Luis; Alberto Ortiz, administrator of Hogar Brother’s Home, where the participant identified as “INR” was later placed; and attorney Laura Rebecca Solá Palacios, an employee of the Intellectual Disability Division. He said Roig Fuertes was also interviewed. Santiago Rivera said the Health report states that on March 3, 2021 -- about a month after Roig Fuertes assumed leadership of the division -- the participant was admitted to Hogar Hacienda Don Luis. By July 6, after an incident involving the participant, Colón asked the division to relocate the person. He said that after that request, Colón was summoned to the division’s central offices, where the report alleges Roig Fuertes met with One Source officials and told Colón the company would provide caregiver services to the participant. Santiago Rivera said the report alleges Roig Fuertes also set the amount Hacienda Don Luis would pay the company.
Santiago Rivera also questioned what he described as Roig Fuertes’ ties to One Source.
“What was Roig’s interest in this company? We are calling on her to answer publicly,” he said.
Rivera Schatz says he’ll release Justice Dept. closing report on probe
Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz announced later on Monday during the Senate floor session that he will release the Justice Department’s closing report regarding the investigation into Roig Fuertes, stating that he wishes to examine the complete case file before taking a position on the matter.
“I requested the closing report from the Department of Justice, and they are going to deliver it to me today,” Rivera Schatz said during his address to the Senate.
“And before making any statements against the secretary of the Department of the Family, I want to see that report,” he added. “Because I believe that is only fair.”
Rivera Schatz noted that the case remained under review at the Department of Justice throughout 2022, 2023 and 2024, until Oct. 30, 2025, when the current administration decided to close the investigation without filing any charges. At the same time, he criticized the PDP for demanding the official’s resignation without waiting for the closing report.
Rivera Schatz stated that if the report reveals any irregularities, it would be necessary to examine not only the conduct of Roig Fuertes but also that of those involved in processing the referral within the Health and Justice departments, and the prosecutor’s office that signed off on closing the case.
The Senate leader further noted that the official in question appeared on a radio program, provided a sworn statement, and offered public explanations; however, he insisted that potential criminal or ethical liabilities are determined in the forums empowered to adjudicate them, not outside of those processes.