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Cabrera surrenders • Former finance secretary pleads not guilty to bribery and theft charges
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Posted on Jul 17 2000
Former Finance Sec. Antonio R. Cabrera turned himself in last Friday and appeared in the U.S. District Court to answer theft and bribery charges filed against him by the federal government.
He pled not guilty to all five counts based on the indictment which was handed down by a grand jury a day before. Judge Alex R. Munson set his bail at $100,000 secured bond which he has to produce by Wednesday.
Mr. Cabrera, 40, surrendered to federal authorities with his lawyer Joseph A. Arriola after Judge Munson issued a warrant for his arrest with initial fixed bail at $200,000 for his temporary freedom. He is scheduled to appear in court again on September 18.
The ex-Cabinet official during former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio’s administration was accused of embezzling, stealing or obtaining by fraud over $56,000 from programs receiving federal funds while in office.
He was also alleged to have accepted at least $6,000 as bribe money from Candido Castro, owner and operator of land surveying firm Castro and Associates, in exchange for a CNMI government transaction involving $30,621.25 in public funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The criminal charges — three counts of theft and two counts of bribery — in the federal court came barely six months after the CNMI government filed a civil case in the local court against Mr. Cabrera for allegedly misusing and misappropriating public funds amounting to $74,307.59.
The suit, still pending with the Superior Court, accused him of passing on his personal expenses, including luxury items and even donuts, to the government based on the investigation by the Office of Public Auditor.
Mr. Cabrera was secretary of the Department of Finance from June 1995 up until his resignation in August 1997 due to reported falling out with then-Gov. Tenorio. He received a salary of $54,000 per year during his tenure in office.
The indictment did not provide details of his case in the federal court, but sources said it is connected with the pending litigation in the Superior Court.
