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No response yet on reimbursement demand
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Posted on Feb 10 2006
The Fitial administration is giving Washington D.C.-based lobby firms 30 days to respond to its demand for reimbursement of fees paid under past administrations.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said yesterday that his office has not received a response from Greenberg Traurig and Preston Gates, Ellis & Rouvelas, Meeds, the lobby firms previously connected to the CNMI government.
The administration sent the demand letter two weeks ago, asking the firms to reimburse all monies the Commonwealth government had paid for their services.
“We have decided that we will give them due time to response. We will send a follow up 30 days after the first letter was sent,” Fitial said.
From 1994 to 2001, the CNMI government paid at least $11 million to the lobby firms in an attempt to keep the local government’s control over wage rates and immigration.
The firms are associated with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who had pleaded guilty to three federal felonies: conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax evasion.
In his demand letter, Fitial said that the positive effects of the lobby services have been undone by the wide scandal brought on by the criminal charges against Abramoff.
“Mr. Abramoff’s criminal convictions appear to be negatively focusing attention upon the Commonwealth. For years, the Commonwealth has diligently focused on reforming its labor system by cracking down on abuses and corruption,” Fitial said.
