Ex-Office of Aging director Mondala pleads guilty

Former Office of Aging director Rose DLG Mondala talks with her counsel, Loren Sutton, outside the courtroom before she entered a guilty plea on corruption charges yesterday afternoon in the Superior Court. (Ferdie Dela Torre)

Former Office of Aging director Rose DLG Mondala entered a guilty plea yesterday in connection with the charges that she used the Aging Office’s funds and materials for the needs of the Covenant Party during the 2009 elections and to build a fence at her house in Kagman.

Mondala, 71, signed a plea deal with the government and pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and one count of use of public supplies, time, and personnel for campaign activities.

Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo accepted Mondala’s guilty plea and the plea agreement.

Govendo ordered that the sentencing be on March 30, 2016, at 1:30pm before Associate Judge David A. Wiseman.

Govendo said he will request the Office of the Adult Probation to expedite the pre-sentence investigation report because Wiseman is leaving the bench.

As part of the plea agreement, assistant attorney general Matthew C. Baisley moved to dismiss the remaining 39 charges. Govendo granted the motion.

The 39 charges are 21 counts of forgery; six counts of misconduct in public office; seven counts of use of public supplies, time, and personnel for campaign activities; two counts of use of public position to obtain benefits for business or social acquaintances; one count of theft of services; one count of theft; and one count of use of office, staff or employees of a public office for personal benefit.

Attorney Loren Sutton is counsel for Mondala.

According to the factual basis of the plea agreement pertaining to forgery, on June 15, 2009, Mondala signed the signature of another person to an invoice submitted by a commercial vendor to a government agency for payment, without permission of the person, in order to hide the eventual disposition of the goods covered by the invoice.

With respect to the offense of use of public supplies, time, and personnel for campaign activities, on Sept. 5, 2009, Mondala, in her capacity as director of Aging, knowingly caused items purchased with government funds to be delivered to persons working on behalf of a political campaign.

Such items were to be used to promote the candidacy of a particular political candidate, according to the plea agreement.

Baisley noted in the plea agreement that Mondala has provided a signed “medical condition letter” from Dr. Vicente S. Aldan regarding her various serious medical problems.

Baisley said it appears that Mondala suffers from Type II diabetes mellitus, essential hypertension, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation, DJD of bilateral knee, chronic bilateral knee pain, left lower extremity weakness, chronic left hip pain, persistent dizziness, anxiety disorder, and sequela of tuberculosis.

The case was originally filed by then-Office of the Public Auditor legal counsel George L. Hasselback as a special assistant attorney general.

Govendo, however, dismissed the case in September 2014 after ruling that the appointment of Hasselback as special assistant attorney general in the matter violates the separation of powers doctrine.

Govendo ruled that the attorney general violated the separation of powers by delegating general prosecutorial powers to members of an agency that has no such legislatively created authority.

Baisley refiled the case in October 2015.