Wiretap allegedly shows a Mexican politician’s plan to buy a $58-million property in New York

A private phone conversation recording obtained and aired by Univision is adding a new twist to the heated governor’s race in Mexico’s coastal Veracruz, where a wave of organized crime, journalist killings and femicides have terrorized the state.

In the audio, conservative party PAN candidate Miguel Angel Yunes can be heard talking to his son about purchasing a $58-million real estate property in New York. According to Univision, the politician claimed an annual income of just over $75,000 on his 2015 asset declaration.

“It’s the 55 between Park and Lexington,” the politician’s son, Omar Yunes, can be heard saying, allegedly in reference to the location of the luxury building. “They have two offers right now, 55 and 58. Obviously they would go for 58.”

The candidate denied purchasing the property, and blamed the leaked audio on his political rivals. “It’s part of that dirty war,” he told Univision, pinning the wiretap on Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte and Mexico’s ruling party PRI.

According to documents and sources consulted by Univision, the candidate has one luxury property in Miami and two apartments in New York’s Manhattan district.

Veracruz is a state that is constantly being ransacked by politicians. The former ruling party governor of Veracruz, Fidel Herrera, is notorious for reportedly “winning” Mexico’s national lottery not once but twice.

Univision is Fusion’s parent company. Click here to read the full story in Spanish.