Masood hits AGO for maligning his reputation

Chief Public Defender Masood Karimipour yesterday accused the Attorney General’s Office of maligning his integrity with allegations that he violated his contract of employment with the government.

Mr. Karimipour lambasted Assistant Attorneys General William Betz and James Benedetto for instigating the cowardly attack on his reputation which he said was a continuing effort of the AGO “to silence their critics through personal harassment and intimidation.”

The strong accusations issued by Mr. Karimipour stemmed from reports that he helped Ramon Aldan Ayuyu, an individual with mental disability, in preparing and filing a $1 million lawsuit against the CNMI government before the U.S. District Court.

This led Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero to ask the Office of the Public Auditor to investigate Mr. Karimipour on grounds that the PDO chief may have violated his contract with the CNMI government or laws and regulations.

Mr. Ayuyu, a former client of Mr. Karimipour was accused of purse snatching in 1997. Without any probable cause and an arrest warrant, Mr. Ayuyu was taken from his house and forced to sign a confession while the police pointed a gun to his head.

The Chief Public Defender went to court representing Mr. Ayuyu charging the police of misconduct. Instead of investigating the alleged police brutality, the AGO did not do anything to investigate the incident and dismissed the case, Mr. Karimipour said.

“The young man and his mother made tearful pleas to me for help for justice. I did what any ethical and self-respecting lawyer should have done. I did what any Public Defender must do as a matter of duty by law, that is, render legal assistance,” he added.

When the Legislature created the Public Defender’s Office, Mr. Karimipour stressed that the lawmakers gave it powers and duties to defend the rights of the poor as guaranteed by the Commonwealth Constitution.

“Sadly, the allegations leveled by the Attorney General’s Office demonstrates not only poor judgment but also poor lawyering. They are sloppy and wrong both on the facts and the law,” he added.

In denying that he ever drafted the civil complaint of Mr. Ayuyu against the government, Mr. Karimipour said his former client is now represented by a private lawyer. And even if he did, Mr. Karimipour said he was just discharging the duties of his office as authorized by law.

According to Mr. Karimipour, insinuations that he accepted money for rendering assistance to Mr. Ayuyu is a slanderous insult since he did not solicit or take any payment when he provided legal assistance to his former client.

“If the Governor and the Legislature wanted a Public Defender who sold out the commonwealth citizens and their legal rights, they could have named a rubber stamp to be their public defender. Instead, they chose an attorney they knew was a strong advocate for the community and their rights,” Mr. Karimipour said. (LFR)