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Ex-Labor staff in bribery case gets no prison term
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Posted on Oct 08 2008
The Superior Court yesterday imposed no prison term on a former Labor employee who was among eight who were arrested in April on charges they were involved in bribery and conspiracy to forge documents at Labor.
Following a plea agreement, Associate Judge David A. Wiseman sentenced Janel Alepuyo to two years in prison, all suspended, for one count of exploitation of a position of authority.
Wiseman placed Alepuyo on two years of supervised probation and required her to pay a $500 fine, $25 court assessment fee plus annual probation fee.
Upon completion of the sentence terms, Alepuyo’s conviction will be vacated.
Wiseman said that, prior to accepting the plea agreement, he requested the CNMI government to state on the record any mitigating circumstances that would persuade him to accept the plea agreement.
Wiseman stated his reluctance to accept a plea agreement with no actual jail time to be served in cases that involve serious illegal acts committed by government employees while working.
Assistant Attorney General Joseph DLG. Taijeron, on behalf of the CNMI government, stated that in view of his discussion with the potential witnesses in this case, it was the government’s position that the plea agreement, in lieu of a trial, “would serve the best interest of the government.”
Wiseman accepted the plea agreement in view of Taijeron’s statement and Alepuyo’s lack of any criminal history and the fact that this was a felony conviction.
The plea agreement stated that on Dec. 19, 2007, the defendant received $30 from a person in exchange for the expedited processing of Labor documents for an alien worker. Alepuyo was then an employee at Labor’s Application Processing Section.
