AIDS Institute trial press 05/20/99

Kouri trial 05/20/99

Acevedo: "I've never asked for money"

By MARTY GERARD DELFIN
Of the STAR Staff

Former San Juan Mayor Hector Luis Acevedo testified under oath Wednesday that he never received illegal contributions at any time in his political career, adding he didn't understand why anyone would make such allegations against him. Acevedo, who testified for about three hours with short breaks in the San Juan AIDS Institute trial, was called by the defense to help further discredit the government's star witness Angel Corcino Mauras. "I don't know why someone would say that because anyone who knows me at all knows that I have never asked for money in public or private life," said the former mayor who is now a university law professor. He described himself as an "honest career public servant." Questioned by lawyer Charles Daniels, Acevedo said that he never received any money from Advanced Community Health Services, the entity that ran the AIDS Institute, in exchange for not canceling the contract with the municipality. Corcino has testified that institute coordinator Yamil Kouri ordered him to help launder federal money for political contributions to Gov. Rossello, Acevedo and other politicians. Corcino, said that Acevedo was paid at least $5,000 a month to keep the ACHS contract alive. On Tuesday, Rossello became the first sitting governor in Puerto Rican history to testify here in U.S. District Court, where he denied that he ever received or asked for money from the institute's directors. The governor also said that he has never personally solicited money on behalf of his New Progressive Party. Kouri, former operations manager Jeannette Sotomayor and former property custodian Armando Borel Barreiro are on trial for allegedly embezzling $1.4 million in federal funds. Daniels asked the former mayor about an incident in which Corcino testified that he took $50,000 in cash to Acevedo's office, where Kouri was meeting privately with him. Although he said he never saw any money exchanged, Corcino said that Kouri told him the cash was for Acevedo. But Acevedo testified that he established as a policy never to meet with Kouri alone in his office because the man was a controversial figure. 'And if someone would have brought out cash in the office, they would have known what would have happened to them," Acevedo said. Contrary to Rossello's appearance in federal court, where hundreds of supporters gathered to cheer him 'Acevedo's appearance was low-key. Some Popular Democratic Party leaders attended the session such as longtime friends Sen. Edualdo Baez Galib and Velda .Gonzalez de Modesti and Rep. Gladys Nieves. Also in court was Acevedo's former spokesman Rafael Jaume. When asked later if he missed the presence of current PDP president Anibal Acevedo Vila or current San Juan Mayor Sila Calderon, Acevedo responded: "Solidarity has never been the strength of my party." Although he answered some court questions in English, Acevedo asked if he could testify in Spanish because it's his "first native language." Daniels asked if it would be appropriate to still call him mayor because in his native New Mexico former politicians are usually referred to with their elected titles after they leave office. "Here, it would cause me problems," Acevedo jokingly told Daniels. When he was first elected mayor in 1988, Acevedo said that he decided to continue the ACHS contract, which was first signed during the previous NPP administration of Baltasar Corrada del Rio. 'While he didn't say in court why he decided to cancel the contract in 1993. Acevedo, told reporters afterwards that it was because of the scandal that was brewing in the press about mismanagement at the institute. During his cross-examination, the former mayor explained that he had an argument with Kouri when the coordinator told him not to appoint Dr. Carlos Ramirez Ronda, Institute's new director when Dr. Jaime Rivera Dueno resigned. Acevedo said that Kouri came to his office in representation of the ACHS board of directors, which he found odd because Kouri was a hired consultant. He called Kouri's attitude "undue and improper." "I informed him that if Dr. Carlos Ramirez Ronda was not acceptable, then the institute was not for me," Acevedo said. "Kouri told me that only a few days were left for the institute. I told him that he was right." Federal prosecutor Edna Rosario wanted to ask Acevedo questions about parts of an FBI tape recording made of a conversation by Sotomayor with her former maid, Josefa Navarro Ocasio. Navarro taped at, least two conversations with Sotomayor, Which were played for the jury last month. Sotomayor's lawyer Francisco Rebollo Casalduc wanted Rosario. to read other passages of the transcript to Acevedo. Federal Judge Jose A. Fuste said that they would have play the whole tape for Acevedo in front of the jury or give, him the 40-page transcript for him to read over lunch. Rebollo opted for him to read the transcript. Acevedo didn't appear to like the idea when the judge told him how he was going to spend his lunch break. In the recordings, Sotomayor is heard telling Navarro that "the reality is that a lot of money was given to Rossello and Acevedo." "I cannot prove it, but this was given to them in cash," she said. Rebollo pointed to another part of the recording's transcript where Sotomayor claims that Health Secretary Carmen Feliciano and former Family Secretary Carmen Rodriguez got their jobs in government because of the contributions made to the NPP. Rebollo asked Acevedo if he believed Sotomayor's "unfortunate statement." "I cannot reflect personally what a person may have had in their thoughts when they made that statement," he said. "You yourself have made appointments based on merit and not on political contributions," asked Rebollo. "That's correct," Acevedo answered. Acevedo's testimony was interrupted for 40 minutes when a power failure occurred in the Clemente Nazario Ruiz U.S. District Court House and the adjacent Federico Degeteau Federal Building. Both facilities were evacuated for safety reasons for the short duration.

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