The indictment of Lt. Gov. Villagomez

2008 will definitely be remembered as the year when the second most powerful CNMI government official entered the federal court in handcuffs to face an indictment.

In the latter part of July, the island was already buzzing with rumors that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have either arrested or questioned Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez while he was attending a conference in New York. The rumors had it that the lieutenant governor had been charged with misappropriation of federal funds during his tenure as director of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

A TV reporter even cornered Villagomez as he emerged from his office on Capital Hill and questioned him about the rumors. Villagomez denied it.

That denial was turned on its head in the early morning of Aug. 12, when media offices received calls about Villagomez’s indictment and his scheduled hearing later that morning. The court and the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that there would be a hearing.

It turned out that on the same morning when the indictment was unsealed, Villagomez, then Commerce Secretary James Santos, and his wife, Joaquina Santos (Villagomez’s sister), had presented themselves to the FBI.

The indictment charged Villagomez, the Santos couple, and former CUC executive director Anthony Guerrero of conspiring to bilk the CNMI government out of thousands of dollars through business deals involving needless purchases of Rydlyme, a cleaning and de-scaling chemical, for CUC.

It turned out that on Aug. 8, three days before the hearing, Guerrero had already been taken to court where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy after striking an agreement with the prosecution.

An FBI agent said the investigation into the conspiracy required an extensive search of purchase orders and government records obtained with subpoenas, reaching back a full decade.

Villagomez, represented by three lawyers—David J. Lujan, Brien Sers Nicholas and Joey San Nicolas—and the Santos couple pleaded not guilty. All were released after posting bail.

San Nicholas later withdrew from the case. After a week, Santos resigned as Commerce Secretary.

Despite calls by some lawmakers and other people from the community to either resign or take a leave, Villagomez has continued to hang on to his position. For him, “it’s business as usual, and is always business as usual.”

Villagomez and co-defendants later bombarded the court with multiple motions, including a motion to dismiss.

Villagomez, through counsel Lujan, asserted, among other things, that the charges were fabricated and that the U.S. government’s conduct in bringing the charges against him was “outrageous.”

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex R. Munson heard the motions on Dec. 11. Munson denied all the motions.

As all pre-trial motions are now done, people are waiting for the Lt. Governor’s next move as the March 23, 2009, jury trial is fast approaching.