The Puerto Rico Capitol building photographed on August 1, 2019 (Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
(CNN Spanish) -
Legislator Néstor Alonso, a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives for the New Progressive Party, was released on bail this Thursday after being arrested by FBI agents on charges related to alleged bribery and illegal commissions.
District Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico and FBI Special Agent Rafael Riviere Vázquez announced the charges.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, Néstor Alonso faces nine federal charges, including one for bribery and appropriation of funds.
The defendant pleaded not guilty at the hearing held this Thursday, and was released after posting a bond.
The court appointed a public defender to represent Alonso.
CNN attempted to contact the Federal Public Defender's Office in San Juan for more details.
However, so far it has not been possible to get a reaction.
For his part, Pedro Pierluisi, president of the New Progressive Party, reported on his Twitter account that, given the information released, Néstor Alonso has to resign immediately.
"He must resign immediately, both the position he occupies and the one he was elected to," he wrote.
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According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Puerto Rico, the legislator allegedly appropriated public funds by allegedly inflating the salary of an employee of his legislative office to later receive part of the employee's money.
The legislator was arrested two days before the general elections in which he aspired to reelection.
Alonso was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives in 2016.