Man Assaults Puerto Rico Ex-Gov – Ordered to Counseling
A businessman that punched the former governor of Puerto Rico, apparently because he criticized President George W. Bush, has been ordered to anger-management classes. Although he's never met the exiting 43rd US president Bush the junior, and didn't even wage his attack with so much as a shoe, he was facing up to eight years in prison for his lashing out. He was also sentenced to more than five years of probation and required to take counseling for alcohol abuse.
Mr. Molina told the judge that he punched former Governor Carlos Romero Barcelo last February in self-defense, though even by liberal media reporting standards, even we know that's a bit of a stretch of credulity.
The two men had been watching US primary elections in a San Juan restaurant when the fight broke out, apparently after Romero said in reference to sitting president Bush that, "Cowards who gain power become cruel and abusive people."
Both men are reportedly in their 70s, but the judge did not take that in to account in sentencing.
Mister Romero was allegedly wearing glasses at the time and required surgery for a damaged retina and broken bones, according to his daughter, who could not be reached for comment, and her statements could not be verified.
Security footage from the restaurant at the time of the incident shows Molina pointing a finger at Romero, who knocks his hand away before the two men stand and confront one another. The video was not in full motion video, nor did it include sound.
Mr. Molina was found guilty of aggravated assault last October. He sought a pardon from former Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila, who is himself in more hot water than even the Caribbean typically knows.
Molina told Superior Court Judge Abelardo Bermudez that he is innocent and said he plans to appeal his conviction. Legal experts have already suggested that there is significant grounds for the conviction to be overturned or nullified, or at worst that a prohibitively costly retrial may be an easy option.
Since when did punching somebody in the face, politician or otherwise, become a crime, at least when it's George W. Bush that's the subject of the disagreement?
