‘Miller staff to look into allegations’

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) will reportedly look into the Marianas Public Lands Authority board’s request for an investigation into alleged fraud committed by Gov. Benigno Fitial when he was Bank of Saipan president some years ago.

The MPLA yesterday disclosed that it is communicating with Miller’s office and that it has already gotten a response on its request.

The MPLA had accused Fitial of defrauding the MPLA when he allegedly used the same collateral to secure the agency’s deposits and those of the Retirement Fund.

The MPLA has also made similar requests for investigation with local and federal authorities, including the CNMI Office of Public Auditor and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The MPLA request came about after Fitial pushed for the reorganization of the agency, which he accused of wasting public funds.

In response to the request for investigation, the congressman’s legislative assistant, Ben Miller, vowed to look into MPLA’s allegations.

“Thanks for passing this along; I work on Resources Committee issues, including Marianas issues, for Cong. Miller, and I saw the story in this morning’s Saipan Tribune,” stated the lawmaker’s staff in an e-mail to MPLA board’s special assistant Helen Camacho.

“We’ll definitely take a look at this. Please feel free to e-mail me directly if there’s other information we should be aware of,” the legislative staff added.

Miller’s staff asked the MPLA if the subject of its complaint was taken to court. The staff also asked about what happened to MPLA’s funds, particularly the agency’s deposits with the Bank of Saipan.

Fitial’s press secretary, Charles Reyes Jr., could not be reached for comment last night about the MPLA’s communications with Miller’s office, but he earlier downplayed the move, describing it as “an act of desperation.”

Besides, the Bank of Saipan that Fitial represented some years ago and the MPLA have already entered into an agreement regarding the agency’s funds with the financial institution, noted Reyes.

Federal authorities have also investigated the Bank of Saipan fiasco, resulting in the prosecution and conviction of a group of businessmen led by Bert Douglas Montgomery, who are now serving time in federal prison. Criminal trial on Saipan’s federal court also led to the conviction of former BoS president Tomas Aldan.

Reyes also said that the move shows the “vindictive” character of MPLA’s board members.

He said MPLA officials should focus on the merits of the proposed legislation that seeks to reorganize the agency, rather than making personal attacks at the governor.

House Bill 15-57 has cited alleged grave cases of mismanagement and abuse of power by the MPLA’s top officials as part of the grounds for the measure’s legislative intent.

The bill proposes the abolition of the existing setup of the MPLA and the creation instead of a new department that will be headed by a secretary who will be subjected to the normal confirmation process for Cabinet members. Under the bill, the secretary will have a five-member advisory board, four of whom will be appointed by the four CNMI mayors and the governor will appoint another one.