Jorge Adolfo de Castro-Font (born September 10, 1963) is a former
Puerto Rican senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and former member of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. Originally, he was a member of the
Popular Democratic Party (PPD) but became an independent representative in 2001 after inner disputes with his party. In 2002, he became a member of the
New Progressive Party (PNP) and was elected Senator in 2004 and 2008, despite inner struggles within the party and legal issues.
In 2008, De Castro Font was arrested by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and subsequently charged with 21 counts of fraud and conspiracy. As a result, he was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and 3 years probation.
Early life and studies
Jorge de Castro Font was born in San Juan, on September 10, 1963, to former
Puerto Rico Ombudsman
The Puerto Rico Ombudsman (In Spanish also ) is a government position created by statute in 1977 during the administration of Governor Carlos Romero Barceló to provide citizens with an office that could receive and investigate complaints regardi ...
Rafael Adolfo de Castro Campos and María Eugenia Font González. He is the grandson of Jorge Font Saldaña, one of former Gov.
Luis Muñoz Marín
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
In 1948 he ...
's closest associates.
De Castro Font received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in justice system from the
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (English: University of the Sacred Heart), abbreviated "USC" and often called simply Sagrado, is a private Catholic university in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is one of the oldest and largest educational ins ...
in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
and his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in history from the Puerto Rico and Caribbean Center for Advanced Studies in
Old San Juan
Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the Isleta de San Juan, islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, Catedral, Ma ...
. De Castro Font was also a member of the
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...
, and served briefly with the
Puerto Rico National Guard
The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) – es, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and s ...
.
De Castro Font started distinguishing himself as a youth leader for the
Popular Democratic Party. In 1985, he was the assistant of then-
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
,
José Ronaldo Jarabo.
Career as representative: 1988–2004
De Castro Font decided to run for an elective post in 1988. He was elected to the
Puerto Rico House of Representatives
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de 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 Senat ...
in the
1988 general elections. He was 25 at the time, making him the youngest elected representative to that date.
[Acusación a De Castro mancha larga trayectoria](_blank)
on ''El Nuevo Día
''El Nuevo Día'' (English: ''The New Day'') is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1909 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and today it is a subsidiary of GFR Media. Its headquarters are in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
...
'' (October 2, 2008) He was reelected to the post in the
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
,
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, and
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
general elections.
Independent legislator in 2001
In August 2001, following internal disputes within the PPD, De Castro Font left the party to become an independent representative.
There are several versions of the nature and manner of him leaving the party. While De Castro states that he willfully left the party, others suggest he was forced out.
On September 27, 2002, De Castro Font announced he was joining the ranks of the
New Progressive Party (PNP) and announced his candidacy for a Senate position.
Career as senator: 2004–2008
De Castro Font went on to win the party primaries and eventually the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
seat in the
2004 general elections. The elections resulted in a "mixed" government with PPD's
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...
as governor, and the PNP dominating both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The PNP majority caucus elected De Castro Font on November 4, 2004, as the Majority Leader of the newly elected Senate, while his friend
Kenneth McClintock
Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...
was elected
President of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
.
First PNP expulsion: 2005 ("Los Auténticos")
In early 2005, after his narrow defeat in the 2004 gubernatorial race, former governor
Pedro Rosselló
Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, a ...
announced he was aspiring for a Senate seat vacated by a freshman Senator for the district of
Arecibo
Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...
. After joining the Senate, he expressed his hopes of becoming president of the Senate, and asked his fellow party Senators to support him over President Kenneth McClintock. However, six Senators, including De Castro Font, refused to do so and continued supporting McClintock.
This prompted the PNP Board to expel several of these Senators, including De Castro Font, while suspending others. De Castro Font gave up his post as the Senate Majority Leader (which went to Senator
Margarita Nolasco
Margarita Nolasco Santiago is a Puerto Rican politician, senator, and former Mayor of Coamo. She has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2004.
Early years and studies
Margarita Nolasco obtained her bachelor's degree from the Pontif ...
), but retained the chairmanship of the Senate Rules Committee, which allowed him to direct all floor activities in the Senate. As a result of the split within the party, McClintock appointed De Castro Font as chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Municipal and Financial Affairs Committee, and co-chair of the Joint Select Committee on the Civil Code and the Joint Select Committee on the Penal Code.
De Castro did not recognize the party's decision to expel him and continued to identify himself both as a supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico as well as a member of the PNP. The
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme cou ...
, in the case McClintock vs. Rivera Schatz, annulled De Castro Font's expulsion from the party in a 5–1 decision. In a subsequent case, De Castro Font vs. Partido Nuevo Progresista, the Court confirmed his right to appear in the NPP primary ballot.
Second PNP expulsion: 2008 (legal troubles)
De Castro Font was again nominated on March 9, 2008, in the PNP primary by voters. On July 8, 2008, it was reported that De Castro Font was under investigation for fraud and corruption by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, which was based on testimony by witnesses interviewed regarding a second case. The pro-statehood senator responded saying that he "has never received money in exchange for a favor".
On August 23, 2008, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
raided the Senator's Capitol office, a
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
gas station at which he was a client and his
Hato Rey
Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico:
Urban landscape
Its name means "king's cattle farm" ( ...
apartment after obtaining a search warrant from U.S. District Court Judge
Francisco Besosa. On August 25, Federal agents visited the homes of some of his employees. On that date, he ceased to be the Senate Majority Leader.
The search warrants confirmed the rumor of an ongoing investigation from the FBI against De Castro Font. These events were considered by the PNP's President and candidate for Governor,
Luis Fortuño
Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a 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 secretary of econom ...
, as sufficient cause to seek his disqualification as a candidate for reelection to the Senate. To this, Senator De Castro Font responded aggressively and threatened to reveal information that could link many members of the party in illicit activities, including Fortuño and his wife.
On September 9, 2008, De Castro Font voluntarily arrived at the
Federico Degetau
Federico Degetau y González (December 5, 1862 – February 20, 1914) was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican politician, lawyer, writer, author, and the first Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States House of Representatives.
Early ye ...
Federal Building in San Juan to "turn himself in" after allegedly receiving a phone call that morning from a close friend of Fortuño's, advising him that he was to be arrested that day. The Senator opted to show up at court, rather than be publicly arrested. It is believed that after this event, the Senator and the FBI reached an agreement to allow the Senator to turn himself in voluntarily if there was ever a warrant for his arrest.
On September 10, 2008, San Juan District Court rejected the pleas of the PNP to expel Jorge De Castro Font from the ballot for the upcoming elections. The judge determined that once a candidate has been elected in a primary by the people and has been officially certified by the
Comisión Estatal de Eleciones, "he or she cannot be removed for reasons other than those specified by law". Puerto Rico electoral law states that a candidate may only be disqualified if he or she violates state or federal law, violations of internal Party policies are not sufficient cause.
Arrest
On October 2, 2008, De Castro Font was arrested by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
at his lawyer's office in
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
. De Castro Font was arrested and indicted on 32 federal charges including fraud, extortion, bribery and money laundering. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. His political consultant and aide, Alberto Goachet, 67, was also indicted for
honest services fraud
Honest services fraud is a crime defined in (the federal mail and wire fraud statute), added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states "For the purposes of this chapter, the term ''scheme or artifice to defraud'' includes a scheme or ...
and extortion. The case is prosecuted by the Criminal Division's
Public Integrity Section
The Public Integrity Section (PIN) is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with combating political corruption at all levels of government through the prosecution of corrupt federal, state, and local elected ...
headed by Chief William M. Welch II, and investigated by the FBI's San Juan Field Office. On that date, Senate President
Kenneth McClintock
Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...
immediately removed him as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, appointing Senate Majority Leader
Margarita Nolasco
Margarita Nolasco Santiago is a Puerto Rican politician, senator, and former Mayor of Coamo. She has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2004.
Early years and studies
Margarita Nolasco obtained her bachelor's degree from the Pontif ...
to fill the vacancy. De Castro subsequently lashed out against McClintock for being a "traitor" to him.
Surprisingly, De Castro Font won a slot in the PNP ballot at the
PNP primaries, and on the
2008 general elections held on November 4, he was reelected as Senator despite his legal troubles.
On December 4, 2008, de Castro was arrested and jailed indefinitely for violating his bail conditions when, according to Federal District Court Judge
Francisco Besosa he has at least three improper contacts with government witnesses. During several instances while awaiting trial, he was housed in the
Federal Metropolitan Detention Center in ''Carcel Federal de Guaynabo'', Puerto Rico. On December 21, 2008, in a letter to PNP President and Governor-elect Luis Fortuño, he announced that he was resigning the seat to which he was elected in the upcoming Senate scheduled to take office on January 2, 2009.
De Castro Font was sentenced on May 17, 2011, to 5 years in prison and 3 years probation. He awaits trial in local courts for related local corruption and tax evasion charges. One of the prisoners De Castro Font met while in jail was
Alex Trujillo
Alexander Trujillo (born August 28, 1974) is a retired professional boxer from Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Pu ...
, a notorious former drug dealer who claimed to have become a christian. The two became friends and began to meet nightly for prayers.
Personal life
Jorge de Castro Font married Jessica Fernández in the 90s. They had three children: Andrea Victoria, Jorge Adolfo, and Sofía María.
In recent years, De Castro married attorney Lisandra Delgado. In the midst of his trial, they were divorced. This caused De Castro Font to be taken to a psychiatric hospital due to the stress of the two legal proceedings against him. He was released a few days after to favor home treatment. Later that year, he attempted suicide. Delgado also claimed that she was victim of stalking by the former senator.
In 2011, as a result of De Castro's legal troubles and incarceration, it was speculated that his ex-wife, Lisandra, could either be charged with him locally for
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
, or serve as a witness against her ex-husband.
In 2020, he made news for a minor car accident.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro Font, Jorge de
1963 births
Living people
New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
New Progressive Party members of the Senate of Puerto Rico
Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right
Politicians convicted of honest services fraud
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
Puerto Rico politicians convicted of crimes
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón alumni
Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
20th-century Puerto Rican politicians
21st-century Puerto Rican politicians