Pedro Toledo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pedro Toledo-Dávila (born 1946 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican attorney and former FBI agent who is famous all over Puerto Rico for his work as a two time police superintendent (Chief of Police).
After receiving an engineering degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Mr. Toledo initially worked for NASA for a brief period of time, subsequently joining the FBI, where he rose through the ranks, earned a law degree in night school and passed the Bar examination. Mr. Toledo gained a reputation for being an expert negotiator in hostage cases, and for treating people fairly.
After Pedro Rossello was elected governor of Puerto Rico in 1992, he selected Toledo to be his police superintendent, the police chief of the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Toledo, who is a confessed supporter of Rossello's PNP party, became well known for his fight against drugs, obtaining the arrests of many infamous drug traffickers during his first tenure as a superintendent. Among the drug dealers and fugitives who were caught during Toledo's first tenure as superintendent were Wes Soto Solano, "Tono Bicicleta", and an individual named "Negri", who was accused of ordering the murders of three men after torturing them. Toledo made the covers of newspapers such as El Nuevo Dia and El Vocero hundreds of times during this period.
After Sila Maria Calderon won the 2000 elections to become Puerto Rico's first woman governor, Toledo announced his voluntarily retirement from police, and he went on, for the time being, to lead a quieter life in the Puerto Rican mountains, while maintaining a small law practice in association with one of his sons.
Toledo created a political stir when in 2005 he took back his former post as police superintendent. Nominated by the PPD's Anibal Acevedo Vila, the island's new governor, Toledo was not expected to accept the offer due to his political beliefs. However he agreed to return, promising to fight against crime even harder than he did during his first tenure as superintendent. Acevedo Vila's nomination of Toledo for the post was an integral part of his plan for all three major Puerto Rican parties to participate as integral parts of the island's government during his four year tenure.
During the press conference where he gave his acceptance speech, Toledo said that he thought about his grandchildren's future before selecting to work as police superintendent for the second time.
Toledo has a reputation for fairness and is widely respected, even by most political opponents.
