PFEI initiates investigation into Naranjito mayor

Orlando Ortiz Chevres is sworn in as mayor of Naranjito as first lady Marangely López Colón looks on.

By The Star Staff

The Special Independent Prosecutor Panel (PFEI by its initials in Spanish) announced on Monday that it has authorized the initiation of an investigation into Naranjito Mayor Orlando Ortiz Chevres for alleged violations of the Puerto Rico Penal Code and the Electoral Code.

On July 22 of this year, the PFEI received a referral from the Department of Justice recommending the initiation of an investigation against the mayor of Naranjito for alleged violations of Article 262 of the Puerto Rico Penal Code of 2012, which criminalizes the crime of illicit exploitation of public works or services, and Articles 12.2 and 12.6 of the Electoral Code of 2020, related to the misuse of public property and funds for electoral purposes, the PFEI noted in a written statement.

The investigation stemmed from a report by the Department of Justice’s Division of Public Integrity and Comptroller’s Affairs, which also recommended referring the case to the Office of Government Ethics for review. According to the Justice Department, the preliminary investigation revealed evidence linking the mayor to the alleged use of municipal employees and resources for political activities.

The PFEI appointed Zulma Fuster Troche and Ramón Mendoza Rosario as independent special prosecutors. They will have an initial term of 90 days to complete the investigation. That term may be extended, upon request, if the complexity of the case warrants it.

Later on Monday the president of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Municipal Committee in Naranjito, Julián Crespo López, reacted to the PFEI’s recommendation, noting that “[a]ll of this stems from a police complaint filed by Carmen Cotto Rodríguez against the mayor.”

“Through a sworn statement, she stated that on the day the primary elections were held prior to the general elections, she was transported by the mayor, along with a companion and the municipal commissioner, to the polling place located at the Felipa Sánchez Cruzado school,” said Crespo López, who had already filed a public complaint on Oct. 1, 2024, along with current Sen. Ada Álvarez Conde, at PDP headquarters in Puerta de Tierra. “When she exercised her right to vote for Jenniffer González Colón, the mayor snatched her ballot and destroyed it. She also stated that the mayor also took another ballot and marked it for [former Gov. Pedro] Pierluisi without her authorization and against her will. Furthermore, the mayor, in a threatening tone, told Cotto’s caretaker that he hoped he knew who to vote for.”

“It is public knowledge in Naranjito that this illegal conduct by the mayor in the Cotto case is not the only one,” Crespo López added. “There is also the case of Enrique Quiles Colón, 78 years old and a resident of the urban center of Naranjito, who made public a sworn statement in which he stated that Flordelis Nieves, an official with the municipality’s Plan 8 Program, illegally requested early voting in his name, brought him the ballots, and forced him to vote for the New Progressive Party mayor, Orlando Ortiz Chevres.”

Quiles Colón filed a complaint with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, the PDP official noted.

“The Puerto Rico Electoral Code provides in Article 12.3, related to obstruction of voters’ voting, that this conduct is punishable by prison terms of between one and three years and fines of up to $5,000,” Crespo López said. “Even more severe is Article 12.6, which establishes a fixed penalty of eight years in prison for altering electoral documents.”

“My call to local and federal authorities is to take action against these cases of humble people, where their vulnerability is being taken advantage of to perpetrate electoral fraud,” the PDP official added.

The PFEI resolution establishes that the investigation should include the collection and analysis of documentary evidence, sworn statements, and any other relevant evidence. It also instructs prosecutors to assess whether there are additional crimes and to make appropriate recommendations.