Defense rests in trial of Ataligs

After the testimony of its 23rd witness, the defense rested its case Friday in the ongoing jury trial in federal court of Rota Mayor Efraim M. Atalig and his girlfriend, Evelyn Atalig.

The jurors were instructed to return to the U.S. Courthouse today, Monday, at 9am, for the closing arguments, jury instructions, and jury deliberations.

The Ataligs did not testify.

The defense’s final witness was former Rota Department of Public Safety resident director Eusebio Mendiola Manglona, who now works with Census of Guam and testified from Guam via video conference.

Manglona testified that, as then-Rota DPS resident chief attended a morning meeting on June 6, 2018 with Efraim Atalig and with other Rota resident directors in which they talked about looking for surplus equipment, possibly vehicles, at DRMO in Guam. DRMO refers to a U.S. Department of Defense Office formerly known as the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office, but is now called DLS Disposition Services. One function of this office is to sell surplus and used federal equipment.

Manglona said there was no talk about attending a political rally in Guam during that meeting. He said they were looking to obtain from DRMO free surplus vehicles because their vehicles at Rota DPS are breaking. Manglona said they were, however, not able to visit DRMO, but he can’t recall why, only that, as they were driving toward DRMO, they learned that there’s problem with going there.

Manglona also testified that, while in Guam, he visited the Guam Police Department because they’ve been talking about making arrangements for the K-9 training of Rota officers. He said it was only on the third day after they had left Rota for Guam when they learned about the GOP’s political rally in Guam.

Manglona said Efraim Atalig did not ask him to attend the political rally.

Regarding the Office of the Attorney General’s filing of a criminal case in the Superior Court against Rota government officials, including himself, Manglona said the case against him is already done. Manglona said he did not plead guilty and that the case was dismissed.

He said he was only asked to pay the CNMI government back for the Guam trip.

In reply to assistant U.S. attorney Eric S. O’Malley’s question during cross-examination, Manglona said he learned about the political rally through Facebook but denied he was part of a chat group that discussed the political rally.

He agreed with O’Malley that his travel authorization for the DRMO trip did not indicate the meeting with the Guam Police Department. He said the meeting for training and the planned visit to DRMO was like “hitting two birds in one stone.”

Manglona said he was charged in the Superior Court with misconduct in public office and that, according to his lawyer, he just needs to pay back the money he spent and his case is done. He said the Superior Court case was resolved without him admitting to misconduct or pleading guilty.

Another defense witness last Friday, former acting director of the CNMI/Guam Medical Referral Services Ana Maria Inos, said she was aware that Efraim Atalig was going to Guam for the DRMO visit. Inos said her job at the time was to arrange the visit to DRMO, but she did not do it. She was busy, she said, and had a bad feeling about that trip.

During direct examination by Efraim Atalig’s counsel David G. Banes, Inos agreed that she should have called DRMO to make the arrangements for the visit.

The prosecution and the defense agreed Friday that, if recalled to testify, Inos would testify that Efraim Atalig attended the funeral of Inos’ grandfather in May 2018.

At the funeral, Efraim Atalig spoke to Inos and offered his condolences, and that Inos believed Efraim Atalig may have mentioned something to her about the upcoming June 2018 DRMO trip as well.

Sometime in June 2018, Inos said she knew there was a GOP rally the week of June 23, 2018, in Guam.

Inos’ “bad feeling” about the mayor’s trip to Guam stemmed from a belief, she said, that she would somehow be used as a pawn. This “bad feeling” was part of Inos’ decision-making and was part of the reason she said “no” when asked to arrange the trip to DRMO.

In the U.S. government’s opening statements, O’Malley said the June 2018 trip to Guam “started it all” as it was when the Office of the Public Auditor began the investigation. Atalig signed the travel authorizations for himself and other government employees to travel from Rota to Guam, as well as two TAs for plane charters.

O’Malley said the true purpose of the trip was not to visit the DRMO, but to attend a political rally on June 23, 2018.

The total amount of payments from the CNMI government in that Guam trip exceeded $10,000, according to the indictment.

Among other trips cited were the travel from Rota to San Diego, California to “attend 9th Annual Chamorro Cultural Festival in March 2018; travel from Rota to Saipan “to promote tourism and to attend the 23rd Micronesia Islands Forum and the Flame Tree Festival” in April 2018; travel from Rota to Palau “to promote tourism in Palau” in May 2018; and travel from Rota to Saipan “to attend the Agriculture Fair in Saipan” in August 2018.

Efraim Atalig, acting in his official capacity, allegedly arranged such government-funded trips for himself and other persons, including Evelyn Atalig, by means of false claims and under fraudulent pretenses.

The remaining charges against the Ataligs are conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and false statement.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona is presiding over the case.