OPA claims evidence vs CUC ‘s Villagomez • CNMI public auditor says FBI has stepped into the power project fiasco

The Office of Public Auditor yesterday told a Senate Committee that it has strong evidence to warrant further investigation into bribery allegations against Commonwealth Utilities Corporation Executive Director Timothy Villagomez.

Appearing before the Senate Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations, Public Auditor Leo LaMotte said OPA unearthed sufficient evidence that would justify future inquiry into the bribery accusations leveled against Mr. Villagomez regarding the controversial 80 megawatt power plant.

“We have clear and sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation of Mr. Villagomez’s involvement in the alleged bribery,” he told members of the powerful Senate committee.

He was responding to a question by Sen. Edward Maratita, who complained on the snail-pace progress in the probe which he said is unfair to both utility official the CNMI government.

Mr. LaMotte also informed the EAGI, chaired by Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano, that OPA will be asking the permission of the U.S. Department of State to allow CNMI probers to conduct investigation in Japan.

To boost his claims that a prima facie evidence has been established to continue the probe, the public auditor revealed that even the Federal Bureau of Investigation has already stepped into the matter.

He noted that the evidence gathered by the OPA in its initial investigation was based not only on the affidavit reportedly signed by Alice Fleming Villagomez, former wife of the CUC executive director.

Mr. LaMotte said he disagrees with plans by the Senate body to wrap up its investigation, adding that probers have to dig deeper to unravel what really transpired regarding the awarding of the contract for the multi-million dollar 80-MW power plant project.

He stressed that giving the OPA a time table to work on the case would mean “crystal-balling” because it is still uncertain when the U.S. State Department will issue its approval for the public auditor investigators bring their probe to Japan.

“There are many factors with which the OPA does not have control over but we would be willing to provide the Senate Committee progress report,” he told Senators during a public hearing yesterday.

At the same time, acting Attorney General Herbert Soll found flaws on the report prepared by a government counsel previously assigned to investigate the allegations.

The AGO Criminal Division report is being claimed by Mr. Villagomez as to have cleared him following a thorough investigation conducted since September last year.

In a news conference late last year, Mr. Villagomez denied knowledge of allegations of bribery to favor one of the bidders as speculations arose due to the delay in awarding the controversial 80 megawatt power plant contract.

According to Mr. Soll, the statements of people interviewed who are all partisans to controversy would indicate that the accusation against Mr. Villagomez was baseless.

“It is not however clear whether the report was referring to the accusation as baseless or it is the statement of the people interviewed which indicated it was baseless,” he explained.

However, the acting attorney general said with the way the report was written, it could give an interpretation that the person accused of bribery has been cleared.