Villagomez seen to submit contempt statement against Atalig and others to AG for prosecution
House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) is expected to certify a statement of contempt against former Finance secretary David DLG. Atalig and business partners Robert Travilla and Salina Sapp and send it to Attorney General Edward Manibusan so they could be prosecuted in the Superior Court.
Villagomez said last night that he is still waiting on the House special committee report pertaining to the contempt citations against Atalig, Travilla, and Sapp. Villagomez said he checked with their legal counsel and was told that they are still working on the report.
On Wednesday, the special committee found Atalig in contempt for not responding to most questions relating to the previous administration’s Building Optimism, Opportunity, and Stability Together grant program. Atalig repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in responding to the questions.
That’s on the heels of Villagomez certifying a statement of contempt against Shayne B. Villanueva, which he submitted to Manibusan for the purpose of prosecuting Villanueva in court.
In his letter to Manibusan, Villagomez said the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding had found Villanueva in contempt.
Villanueva, Travilla, and Sapp were in charge of marketing the $17-million BOOST Program. Travilla and Sapp are the vice president and president of Nonstop Corp., respectively.
The special committee found Travilla and Sapp in contempt for refusing to respond, upon the advice of their counsel, to most of the questions relating to the BOOST Program. Like Atalig, Travilla and Sapp also invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Last March 5, Villanueva appeared with his counsel, Keith Chambers, before the special committee. He likewise invoked the Fifth Amendment.
In his letter to Manibusan, Villagomez said that committee chair Rep. Ralph N. Yumul (Ind-Saipan), Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao (Ind-Saipan), and Rep. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan) each advised Villanueva that his failure to respond to the committee’s questions would subject him to contempt and prosecution by the AG.
Villagomez said that Villanueva asserted his Fifth Amendment right at the advice of his counsel, and reiterated that he would assert that right for all questions and that he would not answer any question posed by the committee.
The speaker said pursuant to 1 CMC Section 1306 (a), “a person shall be in contempt if the person…having appeared, fails or refuses to testify under oath or affirmation.”
Villagomez said Villanueva is clearly in contempt as he has refused to answer any questions posed by the committee regardless of the question’s incriminatory nature.
He said the committee, by a majority vote of its members, determined that Villanueva’s actions established contempt and moved to report this fact to the House last March 5 by a unanimous vote.
On March 8, the committee voted once again, 8-0, to hold Villanueva in contempt.
Edmund S. Villagomez
