With elections approaching, favoritism and political loyalty have paid off for several appointees at the Puerto Rico Lottery Bureau, who secured permanent positions — some newly created — in anticipation of an expected administration change in January 2025. Balancing their official duties with political work for the New Progressive Party (PNP), they also received multiple salary increases during the current term.
A WhatsApp chat, named “Loterías’ Team! 1.2,” which later evolved into “Loterías’ Team!,” brought together the heads of this Bureau, attached to the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury. In this group chat, they shared work-related messages, exchanged jokes — including ones of a sexual nature about agency officials — planned official and social events, and coordinated political activities.
In the screenshot above, Lorna Huertas Padilla, assistant secretary of the Bureau, is the person who calls for a work meeting on a Friday that would include pizza, drinks, and a pool at an employee’s house. Messages reviewed by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), and confirmed by three Department of Treasury employees, indicate that work meetings with alcohol were held. On other occasions, work hours were used for celebrations unrelated to official responsibilities.
The message exchange seen by the CPI includes conversations from the “Loterías’ Team!” from late 2021 to late 2022, involving at least 19 employees.
In addition to task assignments and general communications about the Bureau’s daily operations, Huertas Padilla, nicknamed “Madame Secretary” by her employees, used the chat to offer her professional services to fill out state and federal tax returns for her subordinates. The fee was $25 for the state return and $30 for the federal one. Several chat members hired this service, according to the chat.
Providing private services within the agency is considered a conflict of interest that can result in dismissal, according to the Department of Treasury’s Code of Conduct, Corrective Measures, and Disciplinary Actions Regulations, which took effect in February of this year. The amended version of the regulation approved in 2004 established sanctions ranging from 15 days of suspension without pay to dismissal.
Similarly, the Government Ethics Act states that “a public servant cannot intervene, directly or indirectly, in any matter in which they have a conflict of interest that results in obtaining a benefit for themselves.”
Political-Party Tentacles Strangle Merit
Huertas Padilla resigned as assistant secretary of the Bureau on Thursday, October 31, just 24 hours after her interview with the CPI. She is the daughter of the PNP Senator for the Bayamón District, Migdalia Padilla Alvelo. She became the assistant secretary of the Lottery Bureau in December 2020. She completed a master’s in business administration and management from Ana G. Méndez University in 2022. Before that, she received three administrative consulting contracts between 2014 and 2015 in the House of Representatives and the State Elections Commission (CEE in Spanish).
The now-former official was part of Governor Pedro Pierluisi’s campaign team during the 2020 elections, as seen in multiple photos on social media, and was also involved in the June 2024 primaries, where he sought to be the PNP’s gubernatorial candidate again.
Before taking the top seat at the Lottery Bureau, Senator Padilla Alvelo’s daughter worked as an executive officer at the Department of Treasury from 2017 to 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile. According to government documents to which the CPI had access, her salary increased from $4,674 to $9,548 in January 2021. Huertas Padilla earned this amount monthly until March last year, when it increased to $10,529, according to information provided by the Department of Treasury.
Lorna Huertas Padilla, center, participated in a political activity in Toa Alta in February this year alongside Governor Pedro Pierluisi and her mother, Senator Migdalia Padilla. Photo taken from Facebook
The now-former assistant secretary, right, with Governor Pedro Pierluisi, center, Senator Carmelo Ríos, seated, and the PNP mayoral candidate for Toa Alta, Héctor "Jun" Collazo. Photo taken from Facebook
In September 2014, Huertas Padilla received a $66,000 contract from the House of Representatives for administrative consulting over 10 months with then-PNP Representative Antonio “Tony” Soto Torres. In April 2015, she received a $1,680 increase, earning about $8,280 monthly for providing “advice on everything related to communities, schools, among others,” in addition to reinforcing investigations and proposals for legislative work. Soto Torres was the representative for Cataño, Guaynabo, and Bayamón districts. This is the same district her mother represents as Senator.
Before her contract in the Legislature expired in June 2015, Huertas Padilla was hired to provide advisory services on electoral and administrative matters to the PNP Electoral Commissioner at the CEE, Jorge Dávila Torres.
The following month, in July, she returned to Representative Soto Torres’s office, earning $7,900, to provide services for only 15 days. Her LinkedIn page shows Huertas Padilla completed her bachelor’s degree in 2019. Therefore, all these contracts were awarded without her even having her college degree in business administration and management.
The Chat
At least six members of the Lottery chat, Rafael Ramos Pérez, Heidi Hernández Olivo, Luis San Inocencio Santiago, Carlos Calderón Ayala, and Luis Daniel Figueroa Reyes, all employees of the Bureau led by Huertas Padilla, participated in an internal PNP election in Ponce in 2022, where the local president of the party and current PNP mayoral candidate, Pablo Colón Santiago, was selected. One of them said in the chat they did it because it is “our commitment as a team and our boss.”
The chat served as a platform during the internal election in Ponce to maintain communication about how the voting processes were going in different units, how many people participated, whether food was arriving at the voting centers, and even to mock PNP voters, particularly older people, and call candidate Colón Santiago a “dirty old man.” His opponent was José Alberto Banchs.
In this chat, they also commented on people who criticized the Bureau’s actions on social media. The messages did not seek to resolve the alleged problems but to censor the criticism presented and belittle the complainants, even looking for ways to pursue them.
For example, on March 8, 2022, Huertas Padilla shared screenshots of comments made by someone accusing her department of corruption in the comments section of the Rayos X television program on Facebook.
Screenshot of excerpts from the “Loterías’ Team!” chat.
“Yes, we have a work team chat [of the Lottery Bureau],” Huertas Padilla told the CPI in the interview before her resignation, without specifying if it was “Loterías’ Team!” “Several things are discussed there on different topics. That chat is old. I would have to check who the participants were,” she said.
When asked if members of this WhatsApp group, who were also under her supervision, had any kinship with her, she categorically said no. “Neither consanguinity or affinity with me,” she emphasized. On social media, Rafael Ramos Pérez identifies himself as her “brother.” He acknowledges Huertas Padilla’s daughter as his “goddaughter,” in addition to being seen sharing photos at dozens of family activities. “[Rafael] is my friend, but that is neither consanguinity nor affinity,” she insisted.
Photo taken from Facebook
Huertas Padilla assured the CPI that she is not a tax specialist or accountant. When asked if she charged for filling out tax returns for her employees using the chat, she said: “If any of the colleagues had a process or something that needed help with SURI or something like that, of course, help was always given […] Among friends via ATH Móvil, we send money to each other for different reasons. I would have to check. I don’t remember what you’re talking about right now.”
When approached about these topics, the now-former assistant secretary of the Puerto Rico Lottery Bureau claimed she also did not remember if she participated in the election to choose the PNP president in Ponce in 2022. On the other hand, she acknowledged having worked on Pierluisi’s campaign. “I worked in the field operations part in my private time, outside of work hours,” she said.
Multiple Allegations Against the Traditional Lottery
While the “Loterías’ Team!” chat conversations maintained an informal tone, the operation of the Puerto Rico Lottery Bureau lacked internal controls that could lead to violations of applicable laws, procedures, and regulations, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), dated September 10, 2024, on the operations of the Traditional Lottery between January 2021 and May 2024.
The OIG evaluated the Bureau’s internal controls in printing Traditional Lottery tickets and found a lack of controls and deficiencies in the printing and preparation processes of tickets.
“These are more administrative issues, not even technical, because they do not directly go against the operation,” Huertas Padilla told the CPI.
Additionally, the OIG found deficiencies in the physical access control to the Ticket Printing, Ticket Preparation, and Ticket Reprinting offices. The OIG also detailed failures related to authentication control on the ticket printer, lack of control with blank security paper for ticket printing, and absence of mechanisms for the Payments Section to identify counterfeit tickets.
Besides Huertas Padilla’s responsibility as assistant secretary of the Bureau, the person in charge of operations in the Traditional Lottery since April 2023 is Rafael Ramos Pérez, a frequent chat participant, who refers to Huertas Padilla as a “sister,” and her daughter as “my goddaughter” on social media.
Finally, the OIG identified regulations that were not updated according to current laws and the administrative, operational, and organizational changes in the Bureau. For example, the report noted that, as of December 2023, four internal procedure manuals — three related to lottery tickets — had not been updated since September 2000.
This is an important point because, according to the OIG report, “it prevents each work area and employees from knowing in advance the actions to take in the process for which they are responsible to be able to assign responsibilities for it.” Additionally, “it encourages the lack of uniform and adequate procedures to govern operations, with the consequent adverse effects for the Bureau.”
The Department of Treasury, through its interim secretary Nelson Pérez Méndez, defended the Bureau’s actions in comments on the report’s findings. Still, the OIG determined they were unjustified, and the six findings remained in the audit document.
In an interview with the CPI, Pérez Méndez assured that the report is “about seeing how we can continue improving.” From his perspective, the six OIG findings provide “perspective.”
For her part, Huertas Padilla downplayed the deficiencies found in the OIG audit.
“These are administrative situations, and they were already being evaluated,” the interim Secretary of Treasury said.
He noted that the report “adds to what was already being done in the Bureau to improve the procedures.” However, he did not specify what has been done, if anything, to achieve those “improvements.”
Pérez Méndez said OIG personnel “are always there during the draws. In the process, they evaluate and are there continuously.”
“The best way for you to validate that the Lottery is doing its work is by the (Bureau’s) income. I mean, we have been increasing, there has been no decrease in income, which is the Lottery’s main goal, selling tickets,” the interim secretary added.
According to the OIG report, from the fiscal year 2020-21 to May 16 of the fiscal year 2023-2024, the Lottery generated $890 million in revenue from ticket sales, equivalent to approximately $223 million annually.
Securing Positions with Salary Increases
Huertas Padilla said she is satisfied with the Bureau’s operational performance, whose organizational chart underwent significant changes, both in the Traditional Lottery and the Electronic Lottery. Permanent positions were created in the Bureau that benefited some of the employees who were part of the chat, the CPI confirmed through documents accessed and information provided by the Department of Treasury. Additionally, according to documents that the CPI reviewed, officials’ salaries in the chat increased dramatically during this four-year term.
Huertas Padilla said creating these permanent positions was “for the better.” She assured the CPI that these employees “know what the lottery operations and administration are […] and it has worked quite well.”
These new permanent positions, whose application period closed about four months ago, ensured the permanence in the agency of people whose ties with Huertas Padilla transcend the work environment and who are mostly residents of Bayamón, the municipality where her mother has been senator for 24 years. She is running for reelection.
Photo taken from Facebook
Heidi Hernández Olivo is the niece of former PNP House Speaker, Zaida “Cucusa” Hernández Torres, and was an employee at the House of Representatives when Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González was speaker. González is the PNP gubernatorial candidate. The CPI found that Hernández Olivo was Assistant Director of the Traditional Lottery until September 2024. Her LinkedIn page states she graduated with a master’s degree in project management from Ana G. Méndez University in 2020. Between February 2021 and April 2023, she received two salary increases. From earning $4,532 monthly between April 2017 and January 2021, her salary increased to $6,839 in 2023. The CPI did not receive a response to an interview request from Hernández Olivo, who now holds the newly created position of interagency coordinator with a salary of $5,950 monthly.
Although her salary reflects a reduction, the Interagency Coordinator is now permanent.
Placing people loyal to a political party in permanent positions, even though they don’t have the merits and competencies, has been widely criticized.
“The principle of merit in the workplace has not only been damaged but has been kicked, beaten, totally violated in Puerto Rico,” Palmira Ríos González, an expert in public administration, told the CPI.
In summary, the principle of merit means that all public employees will be recruited without discrimination based on their ability and performance of the duties inherent to the position.
Ríos González commented on the importance of elevating the principle of merit to constitutional rank, as it would give more strength to defend it against questionable recruitments. “These relationships of favoritism, family, and people who do not have the preparation and training to occupy the positions do terrible damage to Puerto Rico, the people, and public service,” said the former director of the Graduate School of Public Administration at the University of Puerto Rico.
Someone else who saw his salary increase significantly was the assistant director of the Electronic Lottery department, Carlos Javier Calderón Ayala. His LinkedIn profile states he holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix. Like Hernández Olivo, his monthly salary between January 2021 and February 2023 was $4,532. In February 2023, his salary increased to $6,839. He joined the Bureau in 2021 as an officer. Before that, he worked for 10 years in the Municipality of San Juan and was a legislative advisor in the Senate. In 2015, he was one of the officials appointed to the PNP electoral commissioner’s office at the CEE.
Calderón Ayala asked that any request for an interview be managed by Vilmar Trinta Negrón, the Department of Treasury’s communications director. The CPI sent the questions, but she refused to answer. Calderón Ayala is now the Deputy Director of the Traditional Lottery, a new permanent position in the Bureau with a monthly salary of $6,542, the CPI confirmed with the Department of Treasury.
The exact position was also created in the Electronic Lottery. According to his LinkedIn page, Jayson Torres has occupied that role since September. Torres worked in the Electronic Lottery for 11 months last year, earning just over $4,500. Before returning this year, he was an Advisor on Municipal Affairs at La Fortaleza and Chief of Staff at the Department of Public Safety, earning $11,365. For 10 years, Torres worked in several positions in the Municipality of Yauco under the administration of former PNP mayor Abel Nazario, convicted of corruption. He indicates that in 2022 he completed a master’s degree in business administration from Ana G. Méndez University. Torres did not participate in the chat conversations accessed by the CPI. The CPI’s request to interview him went unanswered. In September this year, his salary was $6,240, according to documents that the CPI verified.
When asked why the positions of deputy directors of the Lotteries were created, Huertas Padilla said that due to the Department of Treasury’s classification plan, these positions were created in all the agency’s bureaus, and this matter should be consulted with the Human Resources area. Treasury has 10 other bureaus, according to an organizational chart published on its website.
Who occupies the positions of lottery directors? the CPI asked. Huertas Padilla asked communications director Trinta Negrón, who was on the phone interview, if she could answer. Trinta Negrón told the CPI that “there are lottery directors, and we will provide the organizational chart.” The organizational chart arrived at press time without the names in those positions.
In February 2021, Rafael Ramos Pérez earned $4,532 monthly as a Lottery Officer. In April 2023, he was appointed Executive of the Traditional Lottery with a monthly salary of $5,471, an increase of $939 or $11,268 more per year. When contacted by the CPI, Ramos Pérez also requested that questions be channeled through the Department of Treasury’s communications director. As of press time, Trinta Negrón said Ramos Pérez would not answer what his academic and professional training is for working in the position he holds in the Lottery Bureau and what his relationship is with the Huertas Padilla family, among other questions.
Photo taken from Facebook
In the chat, Ramos Pérez shared photos from virtual meetings with Department of Treasury officials, edited one of the images with sexually suggestive content, and then circulated it within the chat, where other officials, including Huertas Padilla herself, joined the conversation.
Luis Daniel Figueroa Reyes also participated as an official in the PNP event to elect its president in Ponce. His salary scale increased significantly since Huertas Padilla became his boss. From earning $1,991 between October 2020 and September 2021, he saw a salary increase to $3,139 monthly starting in October 2021 as a Special Assistant. In May 2022, he had another salary increase that brought him to $4,495 monthly as Lottery Director. Starting in June 2024, he began earning $4,328 as an Executive Officer. When the CPI contacted him, Figueroa Reyes said he could not take the call because he was in a meeting.
Issel Masses, executive director of Sembrando Sentido, told the CPI that when people “don’t have the right values and the necessary experience to execute (a job), then it is less likely that they will execute correctly.” This diverts the mission and objective of the state and what a public servant is, affecting employment, resources, and the government’s capacity to serve.
