BRIBERY CASE Tito Sablan: ‘I made a wrong decision’

The federal court yesterday handed down its sentence to the last of three prominent individuals implicated in a bribery case over federally-funded projects on Tinian, ending more than two years of efforts by the U.S. government to prosecute the suspects.

Tito Sablan, who has shares at family-owned Sablan Enterprises, received nearly identical sentence given to his uncle, Jesus Sablan, general manager of Sablan Construction Ltd., Inc., on Tuesday in connection with the case investigated by FBI.

Tagged by Judge Alex Munson as the “bagman,” Tito Sablan evaded jail sentence of up to 18 months and instead would spend the next two years under probation, beginning immediately and subject to several conditions.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 to the court, a $100 assessment fee and a monthly fee of $294 for the two years he is under supervised release.

Apology

Addressing the court, Tito Sablan apologized for his actions to the court, his family and friends. “I’m really ashamed,” he said.

But he claimed he was forced to commit the mistake out of “love, respect and obedience” for his uncle, whom he had looked up to as his father, as part of cultural practices on the island.

“I will do almost anything for him,” he said as his voice cracked, while his three daughters, other relatives and friends in the gallery wept quietly.

“I knew it was wrong, but I did it. It was a big mistake. I made a wrong decision and I really apologized…I want to make things right now,” he said as he sat down, wiping his tears with handkerchief.

His lawyer, Stephen Nutting, pushed for a light sentence for his client as he noted that it would be “unjust” to send him to jail while Jesus Sablan “is walking free.”

He said it was his uncle who asked him not to enter into a plea agreement to the bribery charge when the case was put forth in October 1998. Tito was also not aware when Jesus pled guilty in May 1999 as part of the deal with the prosecutor. It was only in August that Tito acceded to the same agreement.

“It was Jesus who was responsible for the delay in entering plea agreement, particularly if you look at their relationships,” said Mr. Nutting.

Ties

Tito is a blood brother of former Sen. Herman Manglona, who is now serving time in jail after being sentenced last month by Judge Munson when he pled guilty to charges of bribery and attempting to influence a grand jury . He is also the adopted son of one of Jesus’ brothers.

The three were investigated by FBI in connection with road clearing projects on Tinian in 1996 administered by Mr. Manglona, who was then mayor of the island municipality.

According to court documents, Mr. Manglona received bribes from Jesus in exchange for rental of heavy equipment from Sablan Construction. It was Tito who delivered the money to the former senator.

“It’s very clear that Tito Sablan was a bag boy for Jesus Sablan,” Mr. Nutting told the court before the sentence was handed down. “The errand boy is now facing 18 months in the penitentiary. I think there’s something incredible about it.”

But Judge Munson brushed off the defense’s claim of tight family ties and local cultural practices as reasons for him to commit the crime.

“I don’t buy that. I don’t think it’s not a condition of the culture to say that ‘I will break the law because of relationships’,” he said, citing that they knew about the crime. “Every single person on Tinian was cheated.”

Least culpable

Admitting that Tito was the least culpable among the three, he granted the appeal for “downward departure” from sentencing guidelines for the bribery charge that usually carries imprisonment from 24 to 30 months plus fines.

U.S. Attorney Kevin Seely recommended reducing the jail sentence to 18 months for “substantial assistance” extended by the defendant.

He called Tito’s decision to plead guilty a “smart move” as he said that “it was the nail in the coffin for [Mr. Manglona] to plead guilty, too.”

Mr. Manglona, who resigned from the Senate last September in the wake of his court indictment, was sentenced, aside from doing time in jail, to pay $15,000 to the CNMI government for restitution and to be placed under supervised release for three years.

Jesus Sablan, on the other hand, was given a two-year probation and a monthly fee of $253 while on supervised release, a fine of $72,000 and restitution of $3,995 payable to the Commonwealth representing the balance of total amount of bribe money raked in by Mr. Manglona.