By The Star Staff
The first clash in the new House legislative session continues to escalate.
After Speaker of the House of Representatives Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez voiced his support for Citizen Victory Movement (MVC by its Spanish initials) Rep. Mariana Nogales Molinelli, who had criticized Alternate Minority Leader Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló for asking for a House Ethics probe against her, the New Progressive Party lawmaker said he will file an ethics complaint against Nogales Molinelli.
Hernández Montañez hesitated to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee because no accusation of irregularity had been made. He insisted, however, that he will not hesitate to do so at the appropriate time.
Rodríguez Aguiló highlighted the double standard with which he said the statements made by the Nogales Molinelli were measured. The MVC lawmaker challenged Rodriguez Aguilo to present any complaint to the corresponding forum “if he truly has his pants on properly.”
“She [Nogales Molinelli) has been on bail for 230 days and that has never happened in the House of Representatives,” Rodríguez Aguiló said. “Since she challenged me, I have already made the official arrangements and I must be receiving the official report from the Court and I guarantee that I will file the complaint in the Ethics Committee.”
Nogales Molinelli was charged last year along with her mother and their Ocean Front Corporation for tax evasion. The previous December she was fined $2,000 and publicly rebuked by the House.
Last month, Judge Iraida Rodríguez of the Court of First Instance of San Juan ruled against Nogales Molinelli, finding cause to arrest on two of the 24 charges that the Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor Panel had filed against her. The judge found evidence on charges of perjury and ideological falsehood for omissions in a Government Ethics Office report.
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