Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Former municipal head Mauricio Góngora Escalante, has been granted house arrest by a judge after lawyers requested the change. The former mayor of Playa del Carmen was granted the change August 8. He was sent to his home outfitted with an ankle bracelet after a judge found him an unlikely flight risk.
José Mauricio Góngora Escalante is also a former PRI candidate for the governorship of Quintana Roo. He was mayor of Playa del Carmen from 2013 until 2017. Between 2011 and 2013, he held the position of Secretary of State Finance during the administration of Governor Roberto Borge Angulo who is also in prison on similar charges.
In 2017, allegations were brought against Góngora Escalante of various public financial crimes for 754 million peso. He was arrested on January 25, 2018 in Mexico City for an alleged diversion of more than 700 million peso from the municipal coffers of Solidaridad, derived from three complaints.
On January 28, Góngora Escalante was formally linked to process and was being held in the CERESO of Chetumal until his recent change to house arrest August 8.
