The Nation - News from Sept. 21, 1989

A former executive of Wedtech Corp. testified at Rep. Robert Garcia’s extortion trial in New York that the governor of Puerto Rico assured the congressman that the South Bronx company would get lucrative ferryboat contracts. The testimony of Mario Moreno, Wedtech’s former chief financial officer, appeared to buttress the government’s argument that Garcia, a Democrat from New York, exploited his political influence to help Wedtech in return for bribes. Moreno said he, Garcia and Wedtech founder John Mariotta met in San Juan with Puerto Rico Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon on Sept. 23, 1985, to discuss the contract. After Garcia and the governor emerged from a private meeting, Moreno testified, the congressman said: “The governor is going to take care of this. . . .”