Jury finds Villagomez, Santos couple guilty
After deliberating for less than six hours, federal jurors pronounced Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez, former Commerce Secretary James A. Santos, and Joaquina V. Santos guilty of all charges relating to a scheme to defraud the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. through needless purchases of a de-scaling chemical called Rydlyme.
After deliberating for less than six hours, federal jurors pronounced Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez, former Commerce Secretary James A. Santos, and Joaquina V. Santos guilty of all charges relating to a scheme to defraud the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. through needless purchases of a de-scaling chemical called Rydlyme.
This makes Villagomez the highest ever CNMI official to be convicted in a criminal case. He is the brother of Joaquina V. Santos, who is married to James A. Santos.
