Puerto Rican governor pleads innocent to fraud

By John Marino

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila surrendered to U.S. authorities on Friday and pleaded not guilty to campaign finance fraud charges as hundreds of flag-waving supporters demonstrated outside the federal courthouse in San Juan.

The governor was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Margaret Kravchuk, who was brought to the island from Maine to oversee the case.

"I am going to keep on fighting for Puerto Rico as I have always done," Acevedo Vila told the crowd as he left the courthouse.

Prosecutors on Thursday unsealed 19 criminal charges against Acevedo Vila, leader of the Popular Democratic Party which favors the Caribbean island's current status as a self-governing U.S. territory rather than full statehood.

He is accused of collecting illegal donations, spending more than he reported to federal elections regulators, using campaign money for personal expenses, and helping obtain government contracts for Pennsylvania businessmen who made illegal contributions.

He faces up to 20 years if convicted on all counts.

Acevedo Vila arrived with his lawyers at the courthouse, where he was photographed and fingerprinted before the hearing. He was allowed to drive inside the front gates, avoiding the "walk of shame" that a long line of public officials have had to take since federal officials began a wave of public corruption investigations in Puerto Rico a decade ago.

FLAGS AND BANNERS