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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. House PIP Spokesman Is Unhappy... Morgan Stanley Finalizes $19M Settlement... Governor: "No" to Cop’s Pay Raise... Governor To Fund Caribbean Games... Federal Court Ends Mental Health Suit
House PIP Spokesman Is Unhappy January 12, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The New Progressive majority in the House of Representatives on Wendesday agreed to recognize Víctor García San Inocencio as spokesman for the Puerto Rico Independence Party minority, although the legislator will not have a vote on five committees. García San Inocencio said the NPP representatives made him a "lame spokesman" and left open the possibility of appealing to the courts to claim more rights as he had in the last term. "If this does not change, I will have to go to court," García San Inocencio confirmed. The chairman of the commission, NPP Representative Iris Miriam Ruiz, said that the arrangement will be approved in the legislative session Thursday after discussion of three amendments to be presented by the spokesman of the PDP minority, Héctor Ferrer. Morgan Stanley Finalizes $19M Settlement January 12, 2005 NEW YORK (AP) -- Morgan Stanley has finalized its $19 million settlement with the New York Stock Exchange, covering the company's lapses in issuing prospectuses as well as two separate cases of employee embezzlement and fraud that totaled $61.4 million, the exchange said Wednesday. The unrelated embezzlement cases, for which Morgan Stanley was fined $6 million as part of the settlement, involved a branch office representative in San Juan, Puerto Rico, who bilked investors out of $56 million from 1991 to 2004, and an unidentified fixed income manager in New York who diverted $5.4 million to his own accounts from 1998 to 2002. The rest of the settlement came from Morgan Stanley's failure to send prospectuses to investors considering the purchase of new stock issues, a violation of both Securities and Exchange Commission and NYSE regulations. Other, smaller regulatory lapses were also involved in the settlement, which was finalized last week, according to an NYSE spokesman. Morgan Stanley settled the various cases without admitting guilt, the NYSE said. Andrea Slattery, a spokeswoman for the company had no comment on the settlement Wednesday. The San Juan employee, Carlos Soto, was arrested and arraigned in federal court on charges of securities fraud and mail fraud on Feb. 18, 2004. He pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. The New York employee pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return and one count of wire fraud, and was sentenced to 26 months in prison on Aug. 9, 2004, the NYSE said. The $6 million fine was levied for the company's failure to properly supervise the employees, monitor customer accounts and maintain accurate records. Governor: "No" to Cop’s Pay Raise January 12, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá on Wednesday did not promise that he would grant higher salaries to police during the next fiscal year. In a visit to the Police General Barracks, Acevedo Vilá said his administration first must correct the structural deficit left by his predecessor Sila M. Calderón, which has reached $550 million. "All the budget decisions will be made appropriately. The island knows we have a very tight budget situation, and I have a Constitutional responsibility to end this budget problem and present a balanced budget," he said. The governor said that budget recommendations must be made with this reality in mind. Governor To Fund Caribbean Games January 12, 2005 MAYAGUEZ (AP) — Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vila confirmed on Tuesday his commitment to the development of a sports infrastructure so the west region can host the XXI Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010. In a session with journalists during swearing-in ceremonies for the mayor of Mayaguez, José Guillermo Rodríguez, Acevedo Vila also promised help for the development of the Mayaguez pier and for a west region trauma center. "In the next four years we are going to begin the work that is necessary for the Games, and also we hope to help in the development of the pier and in the establishment of a trauma center in the local Medical Center," the governor said. Dennys González Jiménez, who represented Pres. George W. Bush at the swearing-in, also committed to try to get federal Health Department funds to aid the proposed trauma center. Federal Court Ends Mental Health Suit January 12, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The intervention of the Federal District Court in the case of the violation of civil rights of mental health patients at the Psychiatric Hospital, ended Tuesday with the issuance of an order that states the government complied with the previous judicial dispositions. Almost a year after the lawsuit of Navarro Ayala returned to the courts, Federal Judge Hector Lafitte decided the Puerto Rican government complied with the agreements set up by the patients’ lawyers. "This court has reviewed the reports of Dr. (David) Helfled and the responses from all the parties and concluded that, at this time, the Psychiatric Hospital in Rio Piedras is in compliance with the consent decree," the order reads, which was reviewed Wednesday by a newspaper. The document states that the government complied with the 1998 judicial decision that set at less that $18.9 million the annual budget of the Psychiatric Hospital in Rio Piedras.
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