Benjamín "Bengie" Cintrón Lebrón was a Puerto Rican politician and former mayor of Patillas. Cintrón was affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP) and served as mayor from 2001 to 2013. In 2011, Cintrón was investigated by the

Department of Justice of Puerto Rico The Puerto Rico Department of Justice (PR DOJ) is the Executive Department of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico responsible for the enforcement of the local law in the commonwealth and the administration of justice. The Department is equivalent ...

for allegedly misusing public funds. The complaints to Justice were presented by members of the Municipal Assembly of Patillas, who felt that Cintrón wasn't allowed to use certain funds to celebrate the patron saint festival. Later that year, the Evaluating Committee of the New Progressive Party disqualified Cintrón from running in the upcoming elections. The committee cited the investigation by Justice, as well as another investigation for

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

, as the reasons to disqualify Cintrón. Cintrón appealed the decision and was allowed to run in the 2012 primaries. However, he was defeated by

Cristóbal Colón Ruiz Cristóbal Colón Ruíz (born October 4, 1954) is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (NPP). He was a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 2001 to 2011 representing District 34. Early years an ...

. Benjamín Cintrón Lebrón died on May 4, 2022.

References

1952 births 2022 deaths Mayors of places in Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from Patillas, Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-politician-stub