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Puerto Rico judge orders arrest of power company CEO

Published:Wednesday | November 10, 2021 | 12:13 PM
People march along Las Americas Highway to protest the Luma Energy company in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, October 15, 2021. Ever since LUMA began providing service over the summer, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans have had to deal with widespread blackouts for extended periods of time, voltage fluctuations and bad customer service along with an increase in pricing. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Puerto Rico judge on Wednesday ordered the arrest of the CEO of Luma, the company that operates transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico, after he was accused of not submitting documents sought by legislators.

The judge said that while CEO Wayne Stensby had turned over a majority of documents that the island's House of Representatives demanded, two requests were still pending.

The company had requested more time to turn over the documents, including receipts filed by employees, consultants and contractors and all communication between Stensby with any Puerto Rico government official, including text messages and emails.

“The truth is that (they) have had at a minimum 233 days or 5,592 hours to have copied all the information to any digital format of their choice,” Judge Anthony Cuevas Ramos of the Court of First Instance wrote in his order.

“Unjustified delays cannot be sponsored or blessed by this court. We consider them a mockery to our judicial system.”

The judge further wrote: “Nobody is above the law. NOBODY.”

Luma spokeswoman Gloria Soltero did not immediately return a message for comment.

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