Federal agents arrested the mayor of one of the wealthiest cities in Puerto Rico on corruption charges Thursday, the second such case announced this month, the Associated Press reported. Guaynabo Mayor Ángel Pérez Otero faces three counts, including bribery and extortion. He is accused of regularly accepting payments of $5,000 in exchange for awarding contracts to the owner of a construction company. The indictment alleges that the scheme ran from 2019 to 2021 and accuses the two of meeting in secret places and of using coded text messages. He was sworn in as mayor in August 2017 following a special election after the former mayor, Héctor O’Neill, pleaded guilty to sexual harassment, gender violence and violating an ethics law. Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement that he was disappointed and extremely upset about the arrest. He demanded that Pérez resign immediately as mayor and as president of Puerto Rico’s Federation of Mayors.
