i-Connect blast mastermind gets 5 years

The U.S. District Court has sentenced to five years in prison the mastermind behind the blast at the i-Connect telecommunications facility in Mt. Tapochau, directing him to pay restitution amounting to over $560,000.

Chief Judge Alex R. Munson said Marvin Leon Guerrero’s payment of the restitution money was due immediately. Guerrero earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson.

The judge said Guerrero is jointly liable, along with co-defendants Andrew Quiambao and John Peter Reyes Mendiola, to pay restitution totaling $567,396.54. Quiambao and Mendiola had also pleaded to the conspiracy offense.

Of this amount, the judge said some $316,200.92 should be paid to the company operating i-Connect, Choice Radio, Inc. The judge also determined that full repatriation should be paid to the following: CGU International Insurance PLC, $160,000; Motorola, $45,931.62; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, $45,264.

Munson also said Guerrero would be placed on three years supervised release upon serving his term at a federal facility. He tasked Guerrero to perform 300 hours of community service and prohibited the businessman from possessing firearm, destructive device or any dangerous weapon.

“While in prison, the defendant [Guerrero] shall participate in a financial management program and any vocational program as approved by the Bureau of Prison,” Munson said.

The judge dismissed four counts of arson pertaining to attempt and actual destruction of interstate commerce facility and government property, which were earlier filed against Guerrero, upon the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The blast, which occurred last Feb. 7, destroyed not only I-Connect’s facility but also communications equipment owned by the FBI. Quiambao and Mendiola used gasoline to set fire to the facility.

According to the indictment, Guerrero and the two other defendants conspired to commit arson from November 2003 to Feb. 7, 2004. It stated that Guerrero paid Quiambao and Mendiola to carry out a plan to set fire to the i-Connect facility. Quiambao and Mendiola traveled from Guam to Saipan on Nov. 28 and attempted to burn down the i-Connect facility the following day.

Based on the indictment, Guerrero promised more money for Quiambao and Mendiola in return for destroying the i-Connect facility in late Jan. 2004. The indictment said Quiambao and Mendiola traveled from Guam to Saipan on Feb. 6 and set fire to the i-Connect facility the following night.

Guerrero owns i-Connect’s rival firm, Communications Specialists, Inc. Both i-Connect and CSI operate two-way radio systems on Saipan and Guam. I-Connect executives had suspected Guerrero’s participation in the arson attempts, claiming that i-Connect took away some 70 percent of CSI’s customers on Saipan when it began local operations. (John Ravelo)