Mondala made to pay $26,351 in restitution

Former Office of Aging director Rose DLG. Mondala has been found owing the Office on Aging $26,351 in restitution in connection with her corruption conviction.

Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo said that during Mondala’s cross-examination and her own testimony at the restitution hearing last Tuesday, she failed to contradict the government’s evidence and, in several instances, supported the evidence.

“The court finds the Commonwealth’s evidence largely uncontradicted and…such evidence easily satisfies the Commonwealth’s preponderance of the evidence burden of proof,” said the judge in his restitution order on Thursday.

The 72-year-old Mondala was ordered to begin making monthly payments of $100 to Aging no later than last Saturday.

Govendo said the amount is based on Mondala’s testimony that she cannot afford to make a larger payment. Se is required to provide a larger payment once she is able to do so, on pain of contempt of court.

If she misses a payment, the Office of the Attorney General may file a motion to show cause. The same is required of the OAG if it learns of any extra income or financial resources that could hasten Mondala’s payments.

Interest on the outstanding balance shall accrue annually at the rate of 9 percent.

In February 2016, Mondala pleaded guilty to forgery and use of public supplies, time, and personnel for campaign activities. Mondala’s one-year sentence was later converted to house arrest.

In granting Mondala’s motion to reduce her sentence, Govendo said he understands the goals intended by the sentence but he must weigh the risks of Mondala’s fragility and the possible adverse effect a prolonged imprisonment would have on her health.

At last week’s restitution hearing, assistant attorney general Matthew Baisley offered the testimony of the two lead investigators in the case as well as 56 exhibits.

The testimony and exhibits detailed a course of conduct by Mondala wherein the financial accounts of the Office on Aging were used for Mondala’s own benefit and/or for the benefit of her then-political party, Covenant Party.

In particular, Govendo said the testimony and several exhibits demonstrated that Mondala used Office on Aging accounts to authorize purchase orders on a litany of items, including food, beverages, and even personal home improvements.

For these transactions, the testimony and other evidence revealed that Mondala forged the signature of the employee responsible for authorizing Office on Aging expenditures in order to obtain thousands of dollars in food, beverages, and other items for her own benefit.

The testimony and other evidence further revealed that instead of providing these items to the proper recipients—Saipan’s man’amko—the items were provided at campaign fundraisers, campaign events, and other political parties and rallies.

For example, Govendo said, the testimony and exhibits revealed that while the Office on Aging was providing man’amko residents with frozen fish worth roughly $635 per month, Mondala was purchasing, with Office on Aging monies, approximately $5,000 in expensive and desirable fresh fish over the course of 12 days, ostensibly for political events.

The testimony, the judge noted, revealed that no Office on Aging staff member or cook recalled ever receiving any fresh fish for man’amko residents, much less $5,000 of fresh fish in 12 days.