Former Mayor of Aguas Buenas Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Ten Year Municipal Contract

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – The former mayor of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Luis Arroyo- Chiqués, pleaded guilty today in Puerto Rico to engaging in a bribery scheme in which he received cash payments in exchange for awarding a 10-year municipal contract for waste collection services.

Luis Arroyo-Chiqués, 56, was the mayor and highest-ranking government official in the municipality of Aguas Buenas from 2005 until 2016. In 2016, Arroyo-Chiqués negotiated a waste collection contract for Company A. In exchange for the 10-year waste collection contract, Arroyo-Chiqués received a monthly $5,000 kickback payment. This payment was made in cash every month beginning in 2016 and continued even after Arroyo-Chiqués left office in December 2016. The last payment occurred in June of 2021.

Arroyo-Chiqués pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in a bribery scheme.  He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Gonzalez of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office made the announcement. 

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s San Juan Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas W. Cannon and Scott H. Anderson of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico as well as the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

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