Judge Abelardo Bermudez Torres set no conditions for Jonathan Roman Rivera's release to his home in La Perla.  Rivera was sent to prison for the murder of online gambling mogul Adam Anhang.

The former CFO of Dr. Ho and CEO of CWC Gaming, Adam Anhang, was brutally stabbed to death in September 2005 while walking with his wife in the normally "safe" Old San Juan section of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Gambling911.com was the first to break the story. 

The case gained national US media exposure earlier this year after Dateline NBC reported on the incident and what may have led up to it. 

Anhang's father, Abraham, insisted that Adam's estranged wife was involved but she had yet to face justice.

Instead, a bar employee was arrested on suspicion of murder in Anhang's slaying.

Rivera, 22, reportedly worked as a cleaning person at the Pink Skirt, a restaurant and bar owned by the Puerto Rican wife of Adam Anhang. In an interview with NBC's Dateline, Rivera claimed he did not know Adam's wife, Aurea Vazquez.

Puerto Rico's Attorney General Roberto Sanchez-Ramos said at the time of the interview that the person responsible for the death of American Adam Anhang will come to justice because one thing favors the prosecution.

"Puerto Rico does not have a statute of limitations," he stated. "We will continue to investigate because we are not satisfied that we have all the facts."

The release comes just days after Puerto Rican officials charged Adam's wife with his murder. 

"Jonathan does not have to spend a minute more in jail," said Bermudez, prompting buoyant shouts from Roman's relatives and friends, who had maintained his innocence. His bond was set at US$1.

The Puerto Rican Justice Department asked the court to release Roman on bond while it reinvestigates the slaying.

Last week, a U.S. grand jury charged his widow, Aurea Vazquez Rijos, with offering a man US$3 million to kill Anhang. The FBI said it is hunting for Vazquez, who is believed to be abroad.

FBI investigators determined that Roman was innocent and arrested another man, Alex Pabon Colon, on charges of killing Anhang, prosecutor Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said. The two heavyset men could easily have been mistaken for one another, she added.

Roman, who had been held at a maximum security prison in the southern city of Ponce, did not speak to reporters.

-----

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com

Originally published June 8, 2008 11:19 pm EST