WEST NEW YORK AND BEYOND — On Tuesday, Mayor Silverio “Sal” Vega and members of the West New York Women’s Club gathered at Vega Team 2011 headquarters to publicly denounce a “dangerous decision” they say was made by the leader of the rival Together We Can slate, Dr. Felix Roque.
The mayor/commission elections in West New York will be held May 10.
During the press conference, Vega displayed documentation of Roque’s overseeing a physician who had previously been convicted of sex offenses.
Vega said his message to Roque is, “Shame on you. You’re not fit to be an elected official in West New York.”
But Roque did not deny the allegation. He said that he was asked by the Board of Medical Examiners to “mentor” and “supervise” a troubled physician. He said he did not seek out the opportunity to work with the doctor on his own.
“In my opinion, we are all children of god,” said Roque. “We all deserve the opportunity to rehabilitate. If not, why then do we have jails, judges, and lawyers?”
Earlier this month Vega’s team criticized Roque for not releasing his tax information after saying that he would. But on Wednesday, Roque sent a copy of his 2011 tax return to the Reporter. According to that document, Roque earned just over $375,000 last year.
Read the next edition of the West New York Reporter for a full update on the latest allegations. – Lana Rose Diaz