Ex-Senate president sues AGO, DPS for $3M

Former Senate President Juan S. Demapan yesterday filed a $3-million lawsuit against the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Public Safety in connection with the government’s Sept. 2 raid on his establishment where he and seven others were arrested.

Named defendants in the case filed in the Superior Court were the CNMI government, acting Atty. General Maya Kara, Assistant Atty. General Marvin Williams, Assistant Atty. General Phil Goodwin, Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram and police officer Paul Ogomuro –– who were all sued in their personal capacity.

Demapan’s business associate Cheung Ping Yin joined in as a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The case was filed by attorneys Pedro M. Atalig and Joseph Arriola on behalf of Demapan and Cheung.

The raid was conducted by a team from the AGO Investigative Unit on East Ocean, where the persons were arrested and business properties and gambling paraphernalia were seized. The establishment was shut down without due process, according to the complaint.

“This was done without a warrant or legal authority based on the charges of Goodwin and Ogomuro that plaintiffs were engaged in the crime of illegal gambling,” the complaint said.

Those arrested, according to the complaint, were taken into custody and “transported in shame and humiliation” to DPS where they were detained and later released without any formal charges filed against them.

The arrest was allegedly made on Williams’ instruction.

The complaint said Kara and Ingram “ratified all actions” made by their subordinates.

The raiders, according to the complaint, “acted arrogantly and in blatant disregard of the rights and feelings of plaintiffs.”

“Ingram failed to properly train his police officers as to the proper procedure for arresting persons for misdemeanor charges,” the complaint said.

Demapan said his gaming establishment in Garapan, which was being managed by Cheung, had a lottery license under Just For Fun, Inc. (JFFI).

The license was annulled by the Department of Finance on July 15, 1998 on grounds that Tattersall of Australia had an exclusive lottery license in the CNMI.

JFFI appealed the finance department’s action.

In June of this year, the Superior Court reversed the finance department’s decision and reinstated JFFI’s lottery license, ending lottery monopoly in the CNMI.

In an earlier interview, Kara justified the raid saying Demapan’s gaming operations were unauthorized as they involved casino gambling, which is illegal on Saipan.

But Demapan said he relied on Assistant Atty. General Elliot Sattler’s 1997 memorandum stating that lottery games “include dice games such as over and under, guessing games as guess the color games and certain types of card games [such] as hi-lo.”

The lawsuit is seeking damages for false imprisonment, emotional distress, lack of due process, illegal seizure, illegal revocation of license.

The lawsuit also named “taxpayer’s grievance” as a cause of action in connection with Kara’s allegedly unlawful exercise of the power of attorney general.

The complaint said Kara cannot prosecute any charges because her appointment was not confirmed by the Senate.

Arriola pointed this out in response to the government’s separate illegal gambling complaint against nine persons arrested during a separate raid on the former Abracadabra Shop last July 3. (See related story). (MCM)