“They are saying a lot of wrong and to some extent insulting things. I have repeatedly said that I had nothing to do with the events that resulted in Mr. Fuentes’s conviction.”
That was the response of Governor Pedro Pierluisi this Tuesday when he was questioned about the information offered by his friend’s lawyer, Joseph Fuentes Fernandezconvicted of corruption at the federal level, that he had chosen to “immolate himself” instead of revealing everything he knows about the Super Political Action Committee, Save Puerto Rico, which raised money for the president’s campaign in the elections of 2020.
Once again, Pierluisi distanced himself from the Super PAC and from the expressions of Mr. Joaquín Monserrate Matienzo – Fuentes Fernández’s lawyer – by indicating that there was no coordination with his campaign committee, led by his sister, Caridad Pierluisi.
“That PAC is an independent entity. He (Fuentes Fernández) made serious mistakes. He committed a crime. He is now going to lose his freedom as a result of that action, but obviously I have nothing to do with it, “said Pierluisi.
“Obviously there is a friendship and I am saddened by what is happening with him and with his wife, his children, whom I know. But -as I have said- already here what is being demonstrated is that in Puerto Rico there is no impunity. It doesn’t matter who it is, be it the federal or state authorities. We are seeing that over and over again with all these corruption cases that we have seen recently,” he added.
Fuentes Fernández was sentenced the week to one year and two months in prison and three years of supervised release by federal judge Joseph Laplante.
After Fuentes Fernández was sentenced for creating the Super PAC, Save Puerto Rico, which did not report its collections to the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Monserrate Matienzo revealed in an interview with the newspaper Primera Hora that his client had “immolated” himself so as not to affect the chief executive and other people.
Monserrate Matienzo affirmed that Fuentes Fernández created the Super PAC at the request of Pierluisi.
Likewise, the lawyer assured that Fuentes Fernández covertly refused to record Pierluisi, who has been his friend since the time they were university students.
Pierluisi replied in the negative when asked if Fuentes Fernández had stopped being his friend.
“Never. Friendships continue, endure. We are human beings. He made a serious mistake. He is going to pay by losing his freedom, losing his certified public accountant license, that is, it is good that everyone realizes that, once again, there is no impunity here,” he reiterated.
Regarding the public expressions of Fuentes Fernández’s lawyer, Pierluisi downplayed it.
“That’s a lawyer who made that expression, but no. In the least. Again, I have absolutely nothing to do with that or the details of that investigation. I don’t know them. I have never… in all my public life I have never been the subject of a federal or state investigation. Never”, he sentenced.
“In politics, attacks come and they want to generalize and try to affect one’s reputation, but in this case I have a very clear conscience. I have said it a thousand times,” she maintained.