Cabrera guilty

Former Finance Secretary Antonio R. Cabrera was found guilty yesterday on three of the five charges in the corruption case in the U.S. District Court following nearly two days of jury deliberation.

The embattled ex-CNMI official covered his face with his hands as court clerk Lyn Lemieux read the verdict returned by the 12 jurors. But he sat quietly beside his lawyer during most of the time.

Mr. Cabrera, 40, was convicted on three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and was acquitted on two counts of bribery.

He is facing up to 30 years imprisonment, plus fines and restitution, as punishment for the crime. District Judge Alex R. Munson set his sentencing on Feb. 6, 2001 at 9:00 a.m.

His lawyer, Joey A. Arriola, said they may appeal the verdict. The defense has 10 days to file a motion contesting the decision. Mr. Cabrera remains free on bail of $50,000 until his sentencing, unless he violates condition of his release.

Judge Munson denied a motion, made by the prosecution immediately after the verdict was read, to detain him, noting the convicted felon does not pose a flight risk or harm to himself and to the community.

But he ordered Mr. Cabrera to observe a dusk-to-dawn curfew between 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. the next day as well as the other conditions and terms of his release.

The unanimous verdict came early yesterday following one and a half days of deliberation on numerous documents and testimonies presented by federal prosecutors. The jury was comprised of seven women and five men.

Guilty

Mr. Cabrera was proven guilty for paying himself $5,840.73 in typhoon differential in November 1996 while he was the secretary of the Department of Finance.

The payment covered eight storms from 1994 to 1996, two of which he was off-island on government-paid trips, even if he was not eligible being an excepted service employee of the CNMI, according to court documents and witnesses.

He was also convicted for pocketing $20,000 which he received as travel advance for a trip to Manila in December 1996. He got reimbursement later of $20,884.35 for receipts and expenses from that trip without deducting the initial payment.

The jury likewise found him guilty for releasing $30,621.25 from the local coffers without supporting papers to pay Candido Castro, owner of surveying firm Castro and Associates, for a federally-funded project on Tinian in December of the same year.
But Mr. Cabrera was acquitted on the two bribery counts stemming from that same incident even though Mr. Castro testified he gave $3,000 to then finance chief as bribe to release the funds.
Each of the count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and fine of up to $250,000, based on the United States criminal code.

Errors

“We’re disappointed,” Mr. Arriola said about the verdict. “But that’s how our justice system works. You’re tried by the jury of your peers and the jury has spoken. We have to accept that.”

But he said there are potential procedural errors throughout the trial which the defense will look into before taking their next course of action.

“We have to act on it. We have to sit down and reevaluate the whole case. The next step would be an appeal,” Mr. Arriola told reporters after the court proceeding.

Lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Kevin A. Seely expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the trial as he thanked the CNMI government as well as federal agencies that helped in the prosecution of Mr. Cabrera.

“We are pleased with the jury. We appreciate their attention and patience with this case,” he told reporters in an interview.

Although they lost out on the bribery charges, Mr. Seely said they felt they had a strong case on the theft charges since they were supported by documents while the others were based primarily on testimony of government witnesses.

He pointed out that the most difficult part of the case was explaining and putting together all the documents during the trial since many of the events occurred four years ago.

“The message would be to cooperate if you are facing charges similar to these. We always consider cooperation from anybody,” added Mr. Seely.

Asked whether the federal government would pursue corruption charges against former CNMI officials found to have authorized expenditure of public funds by Mr. Cabrera in his trial, the district attorney said “I don’t know. We don’t have any case to present to the media right now.”

With the closure of the federal case, Mr. Cabrera is now left with the civil complaint filed by the CNMI government still pending in the local Superior Court, which has demanded payment of $74,307.59. That case came six months ahead of the criminal charges.

Mr. Cabrera was the finance secretary of former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio from June 1995 up until his resignation in August 1997. He was paid a salary of $54,000 per year during his term of office.