3 to testify against ex-Tinian mayor in cattle rustling case

Three people involved in a cattle rustling on Tinian have entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office, paving the way for them to turn state witnesses against co-defendant James Masga Mendiola, who was a former mayor and congressman of the island municipality.

Herman Palacios Aldan, 31, and Franklin Borja Mundo, 32, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to conceal stolen property within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. and felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the lawsuit filed last November that involved over a thousand-dollar worth of beef.

Alexander San Nicolas Borja, 30, copped a plea agreement to one count of conspiracy to conceal stolen property within the U.S. maritime and territorial jurisdiction, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave T. Wood.

They will be sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Marianas on May 2 with downward sentencing guidelines following the plea agreement, Mr. Wood said.

Under federal laws, the conspiracy charge carries a maximum of 10-year imprisonment, while five years in jail for the firearm possession charge. All counts have a fine of up to $250,000.

“Because there has been some significant cooperation by some of the people… guideline sentence will be considerably less and probably I will be recommending some departures for these people,” Mr. Wood told reporters in an interview.

As part of the terms of the deal, Mr. Aldan, Mr. Mundo and Mr. Borja have agreed to become state witnesses in the prosecution of Mr. Mendiola, 50, who is facing the charge of conspiracy to conceal stolen property within the U.S. maritime jurisdiction.

“They have agreed to cooperate and testify and tell truthfully what they know. So they have been subpoenaed to become state witnesses,” explained Mr. Wood.

Negotiation

The agreement also satisfied the charges filed against the three. Two counts of conspiracy to dispose of stolen livestock as well as disposing of stolen livestock which is part of the interstate or foreign commerce in the indictment had earlier been dismissed by Federal Judge Alex R. Munson due to lack of evidence.

According to Mr. Wood, the former Tinian mayor and congressman, whose previous motion to dismiss the suit was denied by Judge Munson, will appear in court on Feb. 7 to continue the trial.

But he said the period between now and the trial date will give Mr. Mendiola time to prepare his case as well as allow the federal government and his counsel to negotiate for possible plea agreement.

Based on court documents, the defendants carried out a plot to steal and butcher cattle owned by the Micronesian Development Corp. by sneaking into its pastures and then shooting two to three heads of cattle on a weekly basis.

They would then butcher the beef in the field, haul them out in pieces, transport and sell to people on Saipan. MDC, which operates the largest ranch on Tinian, has lost more than 120 heads of cattle amounting to $134,000 from the scheme perpetrated by the four.

Mr. Mendiola, who was arrested by FBI agents on Nov. 19, 1999, pled not guilty to the charges during the arraignment along with Mr. Aldan and Mr. Borja, who were also arrested at the same time. It was only Mr. Mundo who pled guilty. He surrendered to the FBI on Nov. 29. All four were released after posting bond.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CNMI Organized Crime Task Force as well as the local police on Tinian conducted the investigation which revealed that the cattle rustling had occurred since late 1998.