Winds of change

Guilty of all charges. Unanimous decision after only six hours of deliberation. The ex-Lt. Governor—despite numerous claims of his innocence—has been tried by a jury of his peers and found guilty of conspiracy, theft, bribery, and misusing public funds for his and some of his family’s personal gain. A loud cry of appreciation to those jurors who had the grit to stand up to the government’s corruption, and to those who came forward to blow the whistle.

That this came out in a federal court is no surprise. The administration wields too large a stick for cases to be brought to trial in a local court. One can only hope that this is the beginning of the end of the corruption we all know exists behind closed doors.

That this will lead to other similar cases will also be no surprise. How many other abuses of government power exists: CUC, MPLA (what happened to that case, by the way?), Aggrekko, misuse of public funds to fight the feds, kickbacks, bribes, sole-sourcing, payoffs…and the list goes on.

This should be a wake-up call to those who are apologists for the current administration. Did the governor not know what was going on during his watch, especially with his handpicked sidekick? Was there complicity at the top? It would seem that the case is made for why the administration is fighting so hard (with public funds!) to keep federalization at bay. One only has to connect the dots.

What punishment should serve justice and make a clear example of zero tolerance for governmental corruption? Perhaps all monies taken from public coffers to pay for Rydlyme, as well as any expenses related to the product, should be charged to those convicted. Think of how that reimbursement could benefit the schools, the Retirement Fund, or public health services. All monies and perks (such as free gas, phone, utilities, housing, and travel benefits, to name a few) paid to the ex-Lt. Governor during his reign should be returned to the public. This would be a just and worthwhile fine.

Oh, and jail time. The ill-gotten gains made at the expense of the public can easily be paid by the wealthy; however, a 20-year sentence in a federal prison would go a long way in making government officials think twice about abusing their position. However, an offer could be made to the ex-Lt. Governor to cut his sentence by half should he open up to the feds regarding other corrupt government officials. To help clean up the government from the top on down, it would serve to do penance for the ex-Lt. Governor to cooperate with the federal investigators and the Office of the Public Auditor to bring to justice other officials found misusing the public’s trust and taxes. If cooperation is not forthcoming, well, let justice be served with a hefty fine, a long sentence, and about 10,000 hours of community service cleaning the engines at CUC.

When election time arrives in November, the good citizens of the CNMI should vote not for the family name, but rather for those politicians who serve the public openly and honestly, whose deeds speak toward the benefit of the people—all the people and not the well-connected few. How many current politicians have a proven record of honesty and transparency? I can think of one person who easily fits in that category but, unfortunately, she is too young to run for governor. And there are a few others who appear more interested in serving the public rather than enriching their family and friends.

Politicians can make many promises (often the empty kind) but deeds speak for themselves. Prudent voters will look at the deeds, not the promises. The guilt at the highest levels of government should serve to open wide the eyes of concerned voters. We can only hope that the winds of change will continue to blow across our lovely islands.