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Babauta’s right to speedy trial waived
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Posted on May 25 2004
The federal District Court granted yesterday a petition to waive the speedy trial for former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. water laboratory manager Pete Q. Babauta over alleged water data tampering, allowing him more time to prepare for the case.
Babauta, who is represented by lawyer Anthony Long, is facing criminal charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and false documents.
In a six-page indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed that Babauta, who is the husband of incumbent CUC executive director Lorraine A. Babauta, conspired with other persons to conceal the true microbiological content of CUC’s public water system on different occasions over a four-year period.
This came as the Division of Environmental Quality repeatedly slapped the CUC last year with citations of various violations of drinking water regulations, including the alleged tampering of water sampling results.
The DEQ eventually decertified CUC’s laboratory, prompting the utility firm to hire a private consultant to conduct the analysis of water samples on a regular basis.
Babauta, meantime, retired from CUC late last year or about a month of forced administrative leave.
Right now, CUC is now evaluating whether to resume its supervision of the water laboratory or to continue to contract it out to a private company.
This came as DEQ said recently that it was ready re-certify CUC’s water laboratory. DEQ said that CUC has made significant progress in complying with the prescribed regulations.
The CUC board earlier said that Babauta’s indictment is a delicate issue considering its impact on the corporation as a whole as well as its effect on his wife’s position at CUC.
CUC board chairman Herman P. Sablan earlier said that the board would discuss the matter in its goal to protect the integrity of the corporation.
