Criminal case vs Public Auditor Pai’s wife dismissed

Superior Court Associate Judge Perry B. Inos has dismissed a criminal case that accused the wife of Public Auditor Michael Pai and her elderly mother of stealing electricity worth over $51,000.

Inos, however, gave the CNMI government 10 days to amend its case.

Inos said the CNMI government failed to show, under its own factual allegations, that Mrs. Joanna C. Pai received a direct benefit from the theft of utility services.

“Because the facts in this case are undisputed, the court is not invading the province of the jury or determining an element of the offense charged,” he said.

The judge stressed that he is not dismissing the second amended information versus Joanna Pai because the government will be unable to prove its case; rather, because there is no case to prove.

The Office of the Attorney General filed the case against Joanna C. Pai and her mother, Columbia I. Chong, in November 2011.

Mrs. Pai, through former attorney general Rexford Kosack, sought to dismiss the case.

Kosack stated that the only reason Mrs. Pai has been charged is that she is married to Public Auditor Michael Pai, who at that time was having a public spat with Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham.

Kosack said that Mrs. Pai has not committed the offense under either the facts or the law alleged in the information.

The information, he said, alleges that Mrs. Pai received the benefit of a theft of utility services. He noted that the government should be aware of the fact that Mrs. Pai is not a customer as the utility account is in the name of another person.

Kosack contended that the second amended information should be dismissed with prejudice because the government’s case theory is that Chong Corp., and not the defendants, allegedly committed the crime. Kosack argued that in general, shareholders are not liable for the criminal acts of a corporation.

The government argued, among other things, that Mrs. Pai received a direct benefit from the theft because she “too, has responsibility” for the corporation.

Commonwealth Utilities Corp. inspectors were performing a meter inspection at Chong’s Corp. on Aug. 30, 2011, when they noticed that several electric items were still running even though the main breaker had been turned off and the meter had been disconnected. The inspectors discovered that there had been a “sophisticated workaround” of the electrical system that allowed for a bypass of the electric meter.

When the inspectors asked to speak to the owner of the business, a Chong Corp.’s employee contacted Mrs. Pai who then arrived at the scene.

The account was found to be in the name of Columbia I. Chong, Mrs. Pai’s mother. Chong, who is elderly, had been off-island for an extended period and left Mrs. Pai to run Chong Corp. and attend to her affairs on Saipan in her absence.

On Sept. 20, 2011, Chong signed a power of attorney that gave Mrs. Pai the authority to represent her in all CUC matters. On Sept. 22, 2011, Mrs. Pai signed a customer agreement so CUC would restore electrical services to Chong Corp.

Inos said it is undisputed that Chong is the account holder of the utility service and that Chong’s Corp. took possession of the property and made use of the utility service.

“Therefore, under these undisputed facts, either Chong or Chong’s Corp. could be determined to have received a ‘direct benefit’ from the theft and found liable,” Inos said.

While Mrs. Pai may manage the corporation’s day-to-day business, Inos said it is the corporation that receives the electrical services, therefore any benefit Mrs. Pai could have received, in all practical respects, would have been funneled through the corporation to Mrs. Pai.