Ex-senator Atalig to withdraw his appeal

Former senator Ricardo S. Atalig wants to withdraw his appeal of the federal court’s order that denied re-sentening him over his conviction on wire fraud charges over a “ghost employee scheme.”

Atalig’s attorney, Steven Pixley, told the Saipan Tribune that he would withdraw the appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Pixley said the decision came about after he reviewed applicable law and discussed the matter with his client.

Last Nov. 7, Pixley notified the appellate court that he would appeal the federal trial court’s Oct. 27, 2005 order that denied Atalig a re-sentencing. Earlier, on Oct. 19, 2005, the appellate court tossed back the case to the trial court for Atalig’s re-sentencing, without mentioning the rationale behind the decision.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Alex R. Munson denied Atalig’s re-sentencing, upholding his August 2003 ruling that meted out five years and three months imprisonment and a $40,000-fine against the former lawmaker.

Munson branded Atalig as arrogant, saying that the former lawmaker refuses to accept personal responsibility for the crimes he was convicted of. The trial judge maintained the propriety of the 2003 sentence, explaining that it was proportionate to the seriousness of Atalig’s offenses and serves as deterrent to the commission of similar crimes.

“The court believes that removing defendant from society adequately protects the public from further crimes of this defendant,” Munson said. “Had the court known at the time that it sentenced this elected official defendant that the sentencing guidelines were advisory, it might very well have imposed a materially different, and considerably harsher sentence.”

Munson said he opted to deny Atalig a re-sentencing in the interest of fairness after imposing the maximum sentence based on the sentencing guidelines in 2003.

“This defendant violated laws, profoundly betrayed the public trust reposed in him by the voters, and helped pervert the moral sensibilities of the young people of the Commonwealth by initiating them into a political culture of criminal behavior, an utter disregard for the moral obligations and ethical duties imposed upon, and rightfully expected from, the Commonwealth’s elected officials,” he added.

Atalig’s conviction and sentence stemmed from his hiring of another senator’s daughter in exchange for that lawmaker’s hiring of his wife. The employees received government payroll even though they did not actually render work.

Following the imposition of the sentence in 2003, Atalig appealed his conviction and sentence before the Court of Appeals, with the assistance of his former attorney, Stephen C. Woodruff.

Pixley later replaced Woodruff as Atalig’s lawyer.