Gov. Anibal S. Acevedo Vila, Puerto Rico Democrat, has been indicted on 19 criminal counts involving three of his political campaigns from 1999 to 2004, the Department of Justice said today.

The charges include conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws, wire fraud and illegal use of campaign funds. According to the indictment, Mr. Acevedo and 12 associates conspired to defraud the United States and violate the Federal Election Campaign Act through illegal and unreported contributions to pay off large and unreported debts stemming from Mr. Acevedo's 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 campaigns for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico.

"This indictment demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Puerto Rico to ensure the integrity of the electoral process," U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Velez said in a statement. "Candidates for office and elected officials will be held accountable for corrupting the electoral process by disregarding campaign financing laws."

Mr. Acevedo is a superdelegate and a pledged supporter of presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to press reports. Mr. Acevedo said he would turn himself in to authorities tomorrow morning.

— Carrie Sheffield, Web editor, The Washington Times