Puerto Rico Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Bribing Public Official

St. Thomas, USVI – District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced today Miguel Rodriguez-Ramirez, 45, of Puerto Rico, to 18 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release for bribery of a public official, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Judge Gomez ordered Rodriguez-Ramirez to pay a $100 special assessment, perform 300 hours of community service, and forfeit the $12,080.00 used to bribe the public official.

On February 12, 2016, Rodriguez-Ramirez pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official. According to the plea agreement filed with the court, between July 2015 and December 2015, Rodriquez-Ramirez bribed a public official by paying that public official to smuggle illegal aliens into the United States. Rodriquez-Ramirez paid the public official a total of $12,080 to shepherd the illegal aliens through customs at the Cyril E. King Airport.

The case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigrid Tejo-Sprotte.