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WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, today returned an indictment against Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila, a senior aide and a former campaign director for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez announced. Today's indictment follows an earlier indictment, returned on March 24, 2008, which charged these same defendants and others with related crimes. The five-count indictment returned today in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico, charges Acevedo...

(English-language translation) All indicates that Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá is not pleased at all with the idea of giving the people of Puerto Rico the chance to listen to all that transpires during his upcoming federal trial. After Chief Justice of the Federal Court José A. Fusté refused [the Noti Uno] 630 [news radio station's] request to broadcast the trial live, the Chief Executive yesterday let the ideal moment pass when he could have told the citizens and the federal authorities that he has nothing to hide, that he has no fear of having the people who elected him to...

Just when the party needs them most, the Dems super-delegates are dropping like flies. First there was William Jefferson, followed by Eliot Spitzer, then Kwame Kilpatrick, and today, Anibal Acevedo-Vila. This morning’s announcement of the indictment of Puerto Rico’s governor along with twelve others, including prominent Philadelphia democratic fundraiser Robert Feldman, worries party faithful for more reasons than one. Governor Acevedo-Vila , “a Harvard educated attorney and politician,” who according to AP, “was elected governor in 2004 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform,” just last month endorsed Senator Obama for president.But as WaPo’s the Trail points out: " The reach...

It’s beginning to feel like a shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. Yesterday’s indictment of Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal S. Acevedo Vila brings the tally of Democratic super delegates facing criminal indictments, or threat of indictments, to four. (Make that five, if you count former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was pledged to support Hillary Rodham Clinton, but resigned March 12 in a sex scandal and therefore lost his super delegate status.) At the rate things are going, maybe the Democrats will have to move their convention to San Quentin to have a quorum. These are the decision-makers who will...

Puerto Rican Governor Acevedo Vila, a Democratic party superdelegate pledged to Barack Obama, has been charged with 19 counts in a campaign finance probe, including conspiracy to violate U.S. federal campaign laws and giving false testimony to the FBI. AP: Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila was charged Thursday with 19 counts in a campaign finance probe, including conspiracy to violate U.S. federal campaign laws and giving false testimony to the FBI. The indictment also charged 12 others associated with Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party as a result of a two-year grand jury investigation, acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said.

Earlier this evening, Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá addressed the island on today's 19 indictments against him from the local U.S. Attorney's office. Acevedo is charged with several crimes, among these violation of federal campaign-financing laws, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. The translated text of the Governor's speech follows: "These are hard and difficult times for the people of Puerto Rico. Our economy needs attention. I know your daily struggle with the increase in the cost of living and a slow economy that is affected by the increase in the price of oil and the recession in...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila was charged Thursday with 19 counts in a campaign finance probe, including conspiracy to violate U.S. federal campaign laws and giving false testimony to the FBI. The indictment also charged 12 others associated with Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party as a result of a two-year grand jury investigation, acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said. Acevedo, a superdelegate for the Democratic Party who has pledged to support Sen. Barack Obama, served in Washington as the island's nonvoting delegate to Congress and was elected governor in 2004 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform....