Inspector General uncovers $109,000 in irregular payments at Highway Authority: the director who approved them now heads DTOP

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a report documenting $109,009.20 in improper disbursements at the Highway and Transportation Authority (ACT), all in retroactive payments for vehicle rentals that violated Law No. 18 of 1975 governing government contracting ¹². The finding carries political weight because the official who authorized the contract amendments was Edwin Gonzalez, then ACT director and now Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP) ¹.

Background: a contract that spiraled

Between September 2022 and December 2024, ACT maintained a contract to lease 19 vehicles for its Special Programming and Studies Area. The original maximum value was $301,650 ¹. However, by August 24, 2023, the agency had already disbursed $294,323.92 -- leaving just $7,326 in remaining funds ¹.

Rather than initiating a new competitive process, the agency chose to amend the existing contract, raising the ceiling to $648,450 -- more than double the original value ¹². That amendment included retroactive payments for services already rendered between October 2023 and January 2024, something the law expressly prohibits.

The numbers and the violations

Report OIG-QI-27-001, signed by Inspector General Ivelisse Torres and prepared under the direction of Francisco Rodriguez, head of Complaints and Investigations, details that four checks were issued: three dated May 31 and one on July 26, totaling $109,009.20 ¹².

Law No. 18 of October 30, 1975, known as the Government Contract Registry Law, establishes that government contracts must be prospective in nature -- meaning they can only cover future services, never past ones ²³. The report concludes that "this disbursement of public funds was carried out in contravention of legal provisions governing government contracting" ².

But the irregularities don't end there. The OIG also detected serious deficiencies in ACT's ORACLE financial system: absence of Audit Trail records, lack of access credential controls, and the possibility that unauthorized users could alter data without leaving a trace ². This means there is no reliable way to track who approved each transaction within the system.

The DTOP connection

Edwin Gonzalez, who as ACT director approved the contract amendments that enabled the retroactive payments, now serves as DTOP Secretary -- the umbrella agency that oversees ACT itself ¹. This raises accountability questions: the official flagged by the OIG now has authority over the very agency under investigation.

ACT, for its part, stated it will conduct "a detailed legal and technical analysis" of the OIG's findings and recommendations, without committing to specific actions ¹.

What this means for you

Every dollar the government pays irregularly comes from the same fund that finances roads, traffic signals, and highway maintenance. The $109,009.20 in retroactive payments represents public money disbursed without following the controls designed to prevent abuse. When an agency can amend a contract to double its value without competition or effective oversight, it opens the door for vendors to overcharge and taxpayers to foot the bill. Furthermore, the ORACLE system failures mean there is no clear audit trail, making it harder to detect similar problems in other contracts.

How to take action / Checklist

1. Review the full OIG-QI-27-001 report on the Inspector General's website (oig.pr.gov) to learn all the details of the case.
2. If you work at a government agency, verify that your unit's contracts comply with Law No. 18 of 1975 -- no payment can cover services already rendered before the contract or amendment date.
3. File complaints with the OIG (oig.pr.gov) if you have knowledge of retroactive payments or questionable contract amendments at any agency.
4. Demand transparency from DTOP: write to the department's press office requesting a statement about Secretary Gonzalez's relationship to the findings.
5. Monitor legislative hearings at the Finance Committee and Transportation Committee to see if officials are called to testify about this report.

What comes next

The OIG recommended that ACT evaluate the irregularities and initiate recovery proceedings for $109,009.02, in addition to training personnel on government contracting and detection of retroactive payment situations ². It remains to be seen whether the agency -- now under the umbrella of a DTOP led by the same official flagged in the report -- will act on those recommendations, or whether the Legislature will intervene with subpoenas for public hearings. It is also pending whether the Government Ethics Office or the Comptroller's Office takes jurisdiction over Gonzalez's role in the approvals.

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Sources

¹ El Nuevo Dia, "Denuncian pagos irregulares en la ACT: $109,000 en violacion a leyes de contratacion gubernamental," August 3, 2026.

² Office of the Inspector General, Investigation Report OIG-QI-27-001, Highway and Transportation Authority, July 31, 2026.

³ Law No. 18 of October 30, 1975, Government Contract Registry Law of Puerto Rico.