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Tim wants to go to Guam to prepare trial
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Posted on Oct 29 2008
Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez and the U.S. government yesterday asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to allow Villagomez to travel to Guam where his lawyer, David J. Lujan, is staying.
Villagomez, through Lujan, and the U.S. government, through assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, filed yesterday a stipulation in court to amend Villagomez’s bail conditions to allow the lieutenant governor to travel between Saipan and Guam for the purpose of preparing for his trial.
Villagomez’s trial, along with his co-defendants, has been set for March 23, 2009. Lujan’s main office is in Guam.
According to the stipulation, due to scheduling conflicts that may arise between now and trial, Lujan requires the flexibility to meet with Villagomez in Guam to prepare for motions hearing, to review discovery, and to prepare for trial.
The parties agreed that Villagomez will request for his passport from the U.S. Marshal’s Office no later than 24 hours prior to his intended departure to Guam.
Villagomez will return his passport to the U.S. Marshal’s Office within 24 hours of his return to Saipan.
Villagomez will also collaborate with the Office of Probation relative to his travel to and from Guam.
As of 2pm yesterday, the federal court had yet to decide on the stipulation.
The deadline for Villagomez to file pre-trial motions was set no later than Nov. 10, 2008.
Villagomez, former Commerce Secretary James Santos, Joaquina Santos, and former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director Anthony Guerrero were indicted on charges of conspiring to bilk CUC out of thousands of dollars through business deals involving needless chemical purchases for CUC.
Villagomez and the Santos couple maintain that they are innocent of the charges. Guerrero has already entered a guilty plea.
