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Senate poised to probe Rasa contract
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Posted on Feb 25 1999
The Senate will reopen its investigation into alleged mismanagement of funds of the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission to shed new light following recent statements from former House Speaker Oscar C. Rasa who serves as consultant to the body.
Sen. David Cing, chair of the Senate committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations, said the oversight will focus on his contract and his functions while working for TCGCC. (See Rasa’s reaction on Page 3)
The hearing may be set next month after the panel has drawn “consensus” of the Senate on the new inquiry, according to the senator.
“I’m going to have to put this down, everything on black and white. I want to go on record so everybody can understand what’s coming,” Cing said in an interview.
The EAGI chair announced his intention to reopen the investigation during a Senate session yesterday, saying he wanted to get the support of the committee members before forging ahead with the plan.
Senate Floor leader Pete P. Reyes, a member of the committee, said they would back the investigation as part of the effort to resolve problems facing Tinian.
“This is a Tinian issue and Saipan is not going to oppose any efforts to reopen this investigation,” he told in a separate interview.
TCGCC has come under fire over the last two years because of allegations of funds misuse. Early last year, EAGI suspended its oversight after prime witness Paul Palmer, former executive director of the commission, suddenly disappeared.
With the planned new inquiry, the Senate is hoping to call Rasa to the witness stand to testify on his consultancy job for the commission.
His TCGCC contract stipulating a $100,000 salary per year has come under close scrutiny early this month after Tinian Mayor Francisco M. Borja has called for its immediate termination on grounds that his employment violated a law that prohibits hiring of an ex-convict.
Rasa, along with his brother Ponciano who was then Senate President, spent time in a federal prison in the early 1990s after he was convicted for receiving a payoff from a foreign construction firm that had been awarded a contract to build a government housing project in Koblerville.
