A governor’s appointee to the Free Trade Zone Authority board yesterday sought to refute allegations questioning his credential, lashing out at Rep. Stanley T. Torres for pressing a “personal family matter.”<\/p>\n
George M. Fleming, Jr. claimed it may have been politically motivated, and the charge has nothing to do with his “ability to contribute my expertise and knowledge” to the board.<\/p>\n
He sent to the news agencies a copy of a Superior Court document clearing him of any criminal record as well as a letter to Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano, chair of the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations, explaining his case.<\/p>\n
The Saipan lawmaker has asked the committee to scrutinize the credentials of Mr. Fleming, citing a 1991 criminal case filed against him for assault with dangerous weapon which he said were serious charges.<\/p>\n
Mr. Fleming’s police clearance issued yesterday by the clerk of court indicated he has never been convicted of any criminal offense.<\/p>\n
The EAGI chair has already referred the matter to the Office of Public Auditor for investigation.<\/p>\n
Mr. Fleming said it is unfortunate that Mr. Torres was not there in a public hearing on Saipan conducted by EAGI on his nomination to raise the issue.<\/p>\n
“I would have been happy to answer any of his questions at that time, even though I feel that personal family matters from nearly a decade ago have nothing to do with my ability to contribute my expertise and knowledge to the FTZ board,” he wrote to Mr. Adriano.<\/p>\n
Likewise, he raised suspicion that Mr. Torres’ move to “embarrass me publicly” was prompted by speculations he would run for election in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
“If political motivations are behind this, then it is very unfortunate and unnecessary because in fact I have no intention to run for public office at this time,” he said.<\/p>\n
He also stressed he is committed to being a businessman and is looking forward to work to begin implementation of free trade zones in the CNMI.<\/p>\n
“I am very honored to have been appointed by the governor and hope that your committee will see fit to confirm me,” he told Mr. Adriano. (BS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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