Prominent San Juan, Puerto Rico-based attorney and “Democratic” lobbyist Francisco Domenech has resigned his position as at-large member of the Democratic National Committee following his arrest earlier this week on serious domestic abuse charges.
Public records show the charges revolve around two separate incidents involving Domenech and his wife, Veronica Ferraioli, herself a prominent San Juan attorney and member of the Puerto Rico Democratic Party’s Executive Board.
According to police reports, the first incident began when Domenech smashed the victim’s smartphone against the wall out of apparent jealousy before tying her hands together and repeatedly punching her in the stomach while yelling “tell me the truth”.
The second incident, which lead to the arrest, involved Domenech sending his wife disparaging messages telling her to leave their house and that she’d never see their daughters again, after which he proceeded to send her pictures of him literally setting fire to her belongings, court documents show.
Founder and Managing Partner of the tiny (and semi-questionable) lobbying and consulting firm Politank, Domenech is a well-known figure within Democratic establishment circles in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, most recently having been named Member At-Large of the DNC by Chairman Tom Perez.
He co-chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Puerto Rico in 2008 and 2016 and has been a close collaborator of the Clinton family over the years. As recently as the day after being arrested he was prominently featured in a Clinton Foundation event in Miami. Records show he raised at least half a million dollars for the Ready For Hillary Superpac in 2015.
Domenech had previously served as member of the DNC as National Committeeman for the Young Democrats of America (2007-2011) and is a Staff Member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). He is known to maintain widespread influence within some Democratic Party institutions and Democratic-leaning organizations in DC and Puerto Rico despite being a close collaborator and former campaign manager for Republican Congresswoman Jennifer Gonzalez (PR), who also Chairs the GOP in Puerto Rico. And no, that’s not a typo.
PR Dems immediately distanced themselves from Domenech and expressed full support for Ferraioli, who is part of the State Party’s Executive Board, and alerted the DNC about the situation. “[Domenech] holds no formal positions within the Puerto Rico Democratic Party, but as an at-large member of the DNC who resides in Puerto Rico we found it necessary to notify them directly so they wouldn't be caught off guard by such a situation”, said Puerto Rico Democratic Party Chair Charlie Rodriguez.
The DNC accepted his resignation and immediately disavowed Domenech via spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, who told Politico: “these allegations of domestic violence are extremely disturbing and have no place in our party”.
It’s reassuring how both the state and national party structures immediately responded to the situation, but here’s a radical idea though: HOW ABOUT WE STOP LETTING CORPORATE DINOs CLIMB THE PARTY LADDER?