Jack Abramoff, the once powerful lobbyist who had represented the CNMI\u2019s government and was later at the epicenter of a landmark corruption scandal, was sentenced Friday to four years in prison, a decision that prompted a mix of reactions locally.<\/p>\n
In a Washington, D.C., court, Abramoff fought back tears as he declared himself a broken man and appeared crestfallen as the judge handed down a sentence lengthier than prosecutors had sought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m not the same man who happily and arrogantly engaged in a lifestyle of political and business corruption,\u201d he said before U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle. \u201cMy name is the butt of a joke, the source of a laugh and the title of a scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abramoff, 49, already has served nearly two years for his conviction in a related Florida fraud case. The sentence Thursday by U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle means that the former Republican lobbyist will likely remain in prison until 2012.<\/p>\n
At the height of his influence, Abramoff was instrumental in blocking the passage of legislation establishing federal authority over the CNMI\u2019s immigration system and boosting the local minimum wage. The corruption scandal involving him rocked Capitol Hill and damaged the CNMI\u2019s reputation. <\/p>\n
Key observers on Saipan attributed the pending federal takeover of the CNMI\u2019s immigration rules\u2014which may soon be the subject of a lawsuit filed by Gov. Benigno Fitial\u2019s administration\u2014to the lasting impact of Abramoff\u2019s work. <\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the decision to file the federalization lawsuit has some relation to our inability to negotiate with key people in Washington,\u201d said Rep. Diego Benavente (R-Saipan), chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee. \u201cSome federal officials until now won\u2019t have anything to do with the CNMI because of what transpired with Abramoff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Juan Guerrero echoed those statements, saying federal lawmakers\u2019 reaction to the Abramoff scandal cost the CNMI allies in the nation\u2019s capitol. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was paid to do a job and I think he was effective but the way he did it comes back to reflect on us,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope the U.S. Congress will now let this issue rest in peace.\u201d <\/p>\n
Labor activist Wendy Doromal in her web blog admitted to having mixed feelings about Abramoff\u2019s sentencing. Doromal condemned the \u201cirreversible damage\u201d which, she said, resulted from Abramoff\u2019s lobbying work on behalf of the Commonwealth. Still, she expressed personal sympathy for him.<\/p>\n
The lobbying deal between Abramoff and the CNMI government, Doromal said, \u201cperpetuated the suffering of hundreds of foreign contract workers by preventing the passage of federalization laws that could have spared them the indignity and injustice of being victims of illegal recruiters, being cheated, scammed, and otherwise abused.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, she added, \u201cI believe Jack Abramoff is sincerely sorry for his crimes and takes responsibility for what he has done. I know this because I wrote to him last year, and he replied to me last summer after the death of his mother. I believe that his two-page typed letter to me was sincere.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Abramoff\u2019s sentencing was for a shorter term than some wanted to see. Irene Tantiado, former president of United Coalition of Workers, said Abramoff should spend more time in prison. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re happy that he was put jail but four years is not enough for what he has done to the guest workers here,\u201d Tantiado said. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Charles Reyes, the governor\u2019s spokesman, expressed hope that Abramoff\u2019s sentencing will signal the end of the \u201cguilt by association\u201d the CNMI has seen in the wake of the corruption scandal.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of federal policymakers in Congress have reacted negatively toward the CNMI because of Abramoff,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hope that negative association will be put to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a lobbyist, Abramoff and his colleagues lavished campaign donations, tickets to sporting events and concerts, and vacations on public officials to secure influence with them. His restaurant, Signatures, also lost thousands in free or discounted meals and drinks given to Washington, DC, powerbrokers. <\/p>\n
Public officials in return helped Abramoff’s clients win millions in federal grants and funding. They also slipped him internal government information and altered legislation to favor his clients. [B][I](With Agnes E. Donato and The Associated Press)[\/I][\/B]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jack Abramoff, the once powerful lobbyist who had represented the CNMI\u2019s government and was later at the epicenter of a landmark corruption scandal, was sentenced Friday to four years in prison, a decision that prompted a mix of reactions locally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}