‘Charges vs Villagomez, Santoses sufficient’

The two charges in the new indictment against Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez and couple James and Joaquina Santos sufficiently describe the offense of bribery filed against them, according to a federal government prosecutor.

In the U.S. government’s response to Villagomez’s motion for a bill of particulars, assistant U.S. attorney Eric O’Malley argued that the sufficiency of an indictment is not determined by whether it can be “more” definite or certain.

O’Malley said a bill of particulars is not needed if an indictment provides detail sufficient to inform the defendants of the charges against them and full discovery of evidence has been provided.

A bill of particulars refers to a list of written statements made by a party to a court proceeding, upon demand of the other party. The list itemizes details of a claim or defense.

O’Malley said counts four and five of the superseding indictment provide ample detail of the charges levied against Villagomez and the Santos couple.

Moreover, the prosecutor said, the U.S. government has turned over, or has made available for inspection, all documents related to the case currently in its possession. He said the U.S. government will continue to do so as additional discovery is received.

The superseding indictment charged Villagomez and the Santos couple with bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds, conspiracy to defraud and to commit offenses against the U.S., wire fraud, and theft concerning a program receiving federal funds.

The new indictment alleged that Villagomez accepted a $15,000 bribe from the Santos couple for approving the purchase of Rydlyme, a cleaning and de-scaling chemical, for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. The couple was also charged with bribery for allegedly offering the $15,000 to Villagomez.

The three defendants pleaded not guilty.

Guam attorney David J. Lujan, in Villagomez’s motion for a bill of particulars, argued that the bribery charges are based on conjecture and speculations by the U.S. government.

Lujan said the U.S. government alleging that Villagomez received two checks and making the “giant leap in logic” that it constitutes bribery with no factual basis places him in an impossible situation in preparing his defense.

The Santos couple joined Villagomez’s motion.

In the U.S. government’s response, O’Malley said an indictment is sufficient if the allegations contain every element of the charged offenses, if they fairly inform the defendants of the charges against them, and if they enable them to claim an acquittal or conviction to bar future prosecutions for the same offenses.

As drafted, O’Malley said the two bribery charges satisfy these requirements.

The U.S. government lawyer said one bribery charge alleges that Villagomez acted as an agent of the CNMI government or of its agency, specifically as CUC executive director; then as lieutenant governor exercising de facto control over CUC.

He said the charge alleges that Villagomez corruptly accepted $15,000 from the Santos couple.

O’Malley said Villagomez was rewarded for causing CUC to buy Rydlyme for a value of at least $30,767.

The charge also alleges that CUC received more than $10,000 in federal money during all one-year periods, including January 1998 to January 2008.

“This sufficiency alleges the crime of bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds as to Timothy Villagomez, informs him of the nature of the charges, and will allow him to claim double jeopardy in barring future prosecutions for this offense,” O’Malley said.

With respect to the other bribery count, O’Malley offered the same arguments.

He argued that the charge alleges that the Santos couple corruptly gave $15,000 to Villagomez with the intention of rewarding the lieutenant governor in connection with the purchase of Rydlyme.