Ángel Pérez Otero (born September 18, 1970) is a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and former mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He was a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

from 2005 to 2012. Pérez was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 2004 general election. He represented District 6. He was reelected at the 2008 general election. In a special election to replace Hector O'Neill in 2017, he was elected mayor of Guaynabo. Pérez is married to former fellow Representative and Senator

Liza Fernández Rodríguez Liza Fernández Rodríguez (born July 23, 1973) is a Puerto Rican attorney and politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). Fernández was a member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2012, and of the Sena ...

, who was appointed by Governor

Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013. Fortuño served as the first Secre ...

in 2012 as a Superior Court Judge.

Early years and studies

Angel Pérez Otero was born September 18, 1970, in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

. He is the oldest of five siblings. Pérez completed his elementary and high school studies in

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city and municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, east of Bayamón, south of Cataño and San Juan Bay, and north of Aguas Buenas, Guaynabo is spread over 9 barrio ...

, graduating from Margarita Janer High School. In 1992, Pérez completed a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Business Management, with a major in Accounting, from the Metropolitan University. He graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

Public service

Pérez began working at the Office of Human Resources of Guaynabo in 1991. Two years later, he started working at the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, until 1995. That year, he returned to work at the Budget Office of Guaynabo.

Political career

Pérez began his political career as President of the NPP Youth, and then as Vicepresident of the party in Guaynabo. In January 2004, Pérez was elected to the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

representing

District 6 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Dist ...

, replacing the former Mayor of Cataño,

Wilson Soto Wilson Soto Molina is a Puerto Rican politician and former mayor of Cataño. Soto was sworn in as mayor of Cataño in 2003, after longtime mayor Edwin Rivera Sierra presented his resignation. He was then elected officially at the 2004 general ...

. That same year, Pérez was elected in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. During that term, he presided over the Commissions of Budget and Assignments, and was co-president of the Commission of Legislative Donations, among others. Pérez was reelected in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and was chosen as Majority Whip for his party in the House of Representatives. Pérez won the Special Election for mayor of

on August 5, 2017, by a large margin (69.96% to 30.04%) against Senate Majority Leader Carmelo Ríos (NPP).

Public scandals

Pérez was involved in a scandal, during the 2012 PNP primaries, when it was revealed that there were some irregularities in the voting process at his District. Some of the irregularities involved Mayor of

, Héctor O'Neill, forcing members of the municipal police to vote for Pérez' rival, Antonio Soto. In the end, Pérez' rival prevailed, preventing him from running at the upcoming elections. On December 9, 2021, Pérez was arrested by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) on corruption charges, and relieved of his duties as mayor of Guaynabo by the Puerto Rico Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel. In 2023 he was convicted of corruption following his participation in a scheme involving the awarding of contracts and expediting invoice payments in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash from late 2019 to May 2021. In February 2024, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

Personal life

Pérez married fellow Representative and Senator

in 2006. They have two daughters together: Valeria Angélica (b. 2007) and Lorena Angeliz (b. 2008). Pérez has a son, Angel Gabriel, a member of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

, from a previous marriage.

References

External links

Angel Pérez Otero Official biography
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Otero, Angel Living people 1970 births Mayors of places in Puerto Rico New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico People from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Puerto Rico politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico