Mayor Atalig’s trial is moved to January 2019

To ensure that both parties can prepare well, Rota Mayor Efraim M. Atalig and the U.S. government have agreed to move his trial in the U.S. District Court for the NMI to the second half of January 2019.

Atalig, through his counsel David G. Banes, and the U.S. government, through assistant U.S. attorney Eric O’Malley, also asked the court yesterday to postpone the deadlines for filing pretrial motions and motions in limine.

Atalig, 58, is charged with one count of wire fraud—a charge punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of up to 20 years.

Trial was previously set for Oct. 16, 2018.

O’Malley and Banes informed the court yesterday that they have come to an agreement to continue the trial. Over 5,000 pages of documents have been produced in discovery and provided to Atalig.

The lawyers said given the large volume of documents and the fact that a large part of the event underlying the charge occurred outside Saipan (either on Rota or in Guam) and many potential witnesses do not live on Saipan, Atalig and his counsel need more time than the current trial date would allow, for trial preparation.

O’Malley also has another case scheduled for trial in November 2018, and he is scheduled to attend training after that.

O’Malley said if a trial date is set earlier than the second half of January 2019, the U.S. government is likely to have to use a different lawyer.

The lawyers said “the ends of justice are served by granting this motion for continuance and will outweigh the best interest of the public and Mr. Atalig in a speedy trial.”

The lawyers said the failure to grant the continuance requested by Atalig would deny his counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence and would deny the U.S. government continuity of counsel.

A federal grand jury indicted the mayor after he allegedly arranged a government-funded trip to Guam for himself and 12 others, including eight municipal employees, on an allegedly false claim that he was going to check for surplus equipment there when he actually went to participate in a political rally last June 23 in Mangilao.
Atalig pleaded not guilty in the federal case.

Atalig and seven other Rota municipal officials are facing a separate case in Superior Court arising from the same political rally. Atalig and one of the co-defendants—Department of Public Safety resident director Eusebio Manglona—both pleaded not guilty as to the charges of theft and misconduct in public office. The rest have not been arraigned yet.