Ex-CTC chairman gets 5-year prison sentence

The Superior Court has slapped a five-year prison term on James Michael P. Fitzgerald, the former chairman of the defunct Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission, for stealing $88,202.92 from CTC by issuing unauthorized checks to himself.

“Fitzgerald used government funds…he was entrusted with like his own private piggy bank, taking out money whenever he felt like it,” said associate judge David A. Wiseman.

Wiseman believes that corruption in any form greatly harms a society or community, especially in the form of a breach of public trust that is vested in an employee or, as in this case, a ranking official working for the government.

The judge said corruption undermines faith in public institutions, and takes away valuable resources aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens.

“Such conduct can not and will not be tolerated and the proverbial message must be sent that government officials who betray the public trust by violating the laws of the CNMI will go to jail for a substantial term,” said Wiseman in a written order issued yesterday.

For four counts of theft, Wiseman sentenced the 53-year-old Fitzgerald to a total of five years in jail, two years of which shall be served without parole.

For another count of theft, the judge sentenced the defendant to three years in prison, all suspended.

Fitzgerald was ordered to start serving his sentence at the Department of Corrections on April 15, 2009, at 8am. He is to be released on April 14, 2014, at 8am.

Wiseman required the defendant to pay the full $88,202.92 restitution to the CNMI plus a $100 assessment fee and probation fee.

Upon release from prison, Fitzgerald will be placed on supervised probation and required to write a letter of apology to CNMI citizens.

The letter, the judge said, should be published in the “Letters to the Editor” section of two local newspapers.

Wiseman permanently barred the former CTC chairman from re-employment with the CNMI government.

The Attorney General’s Office charged Fitzgerald with 28 counts of theft and one count of misconduct in public office. The defendant signed a plea agreement with the government, pleading guilty to five counts of theft in November 2008.

During the sentencing hearing at the Tinian Superior Court on Friday, assistant attorney general Joseph Przyuski appeared for the government, while Fitzgerald came with his counsel, Joey P. San Nicolas.

“Public confidence demands a stance be taken against corrupt public officials such as Mr. Fitzgerald,” according to Przyuski of the AGO’s White Collar Crime/Government Corruption Task Force.

Przyuski recommended a 10-year sentence, all suspended except for five years, to be served without parole.

The Office of Adult Probation recommended a sentence of 25 years, all suspended except for 15 years to serve.

San Nicolas asked the court to impose a two-year sentence, all suspended except for six months.

In his order, Wiseman noted Fitzgerald’s acceptance of responsibility for his actions by making a remorseful statement to the court. He cited a petition allegedly signed by 200 CNMI citizens requesting the court’s leniency. The judge also noted that Fitzgerald has no prior criminal history.

Wiseman said as then chairperson of CTC, Fitzgerald who owed a fiduciary duty to the CNMI government and its people, stole $88,202.92 of public money.

He said Fitzgerald wrote 28 checks drawn from CTC bank accounts to his own name, endorsing those checks, and depositing the money in one of his three personal bank accounts. These activities spanned a period of seven months, a time during which Fitzgerald was entrusted with sole possession of CTC’s checks and oversight of CTC’s financial matters.

“Some of the funds were even used to purchase an airline ticket for his wife to go with him on a trip to the states,” Wiseman pointed out.

“The court believes that this is a case where the best interests of justice and of this society will be best served by imposing a jail term that the court believes will have a deterrent effect on the life of the defendant upon his release and more importantly, on government employees in general and, along with the other terms of sentence, will provide the necessary retribution that society demands,” he added.