During his years in public service, Berrocal was also the Governor's designee in the years-long negotiations led by the United States Senate Energy Committee Chairman J. Bennett Johnston, D-La, on Puerto Rico's political status, representing the status quo. He also mentored numerous young professionals working in government, some of whom were humorously called "berrocalitos" (or mini-Berrocal's) in his honor.[citation needed]
In 1991, it was rumored that Governor Hernández Colón intended to appoint Berrocal as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, according to a recent history of the Supreme Court (La justicia en sus manos-2007).[citation needed]
Professional life
Subsequent to his stint in government, Berrocal became managing director of Wolfensohn (later acquired by Bankers Trust, then Deutsche Bank, where he worked closely with Federal Reserve Bank chairman Paul Volcker. Prominent businesses in and out of Puerto Rico sought him out as a consultant.
Berrocal's close Princeton classmate, Bill Ford, found out that he was seriously ill with a rare disease, thymiccancer. After visiting him in Puerto Rico, Ford sent a plane to fly his friend to the Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, where a new chemotherapy treatment was applied, to no avail. On October 25, 2000, Berrocal died with his family and Bill Ford at his bedside.
On May 13, 2002, the Government Development Bank announced the creation of the José M. Berrocal Institute for the Study of Public Finances and the Economy, which offers "training on the theory and practice of public finances and economic development to university students and new government employees."[4] Since 2002, the GDB has sponsored the annual José Berrocal Finance & Economy Institute Internships aimed at providing college level students in the areas of Business Administration, Finance, Economy and Public Administrations — the areas in which Berrocal personally excelled — with a two-month internship experience.
^"Gallery of Past Presidents"(PDF). GDB History. Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2007.
^"2000 and Beyond". The GDB: Six Decades of Service to Puerto Rico (1942-2004). Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2007.
Rivera, Luis Rafael (2007). La Justicia en sus Manos: Historia del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico. Guaynabo, PR: Ediciones Santillana, Inc. ISBN978-1-57581-884-9. loc 2007927327.
