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Palacios insists Pacific Gardenia is still open
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Posted on Mar 07 2006
Pacific Gardenia Hotel and its restaurant, El Segundo, are still open, according to the hotel’s court-appointed receiver, former public auditor Rex Palacios, yesterday.
Palacios told the Saipan Tribune in a telephone interview that information stating that the hotel and its restaurant had been closed starting yesterday is “totally false.”
Palacios described as baseless the allegations that he ordered such closure during Monday night’s meeting.
There was no meeting, he stressed.
The receiver added that the people who spread the false information are probably those who failed in their performance evaluation.
One of the employees told the Saipan Tribune that six of them did not report to work yesterday following Palacios’ announcement during the meeting that he would close the hotel, restaurant, and bakeshop.
The employee said Palacios did not appear at the meeting, but only spoke on the speakerphone.
The employee, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said that Palacios wanted only the Sunset Bar and Grill to continue operating because it is the only one making money.
The employee said they would file a Labor complaint tomorrow against Gardenia Hotel because of five unpaid payroll checks, among other things.
The employee added that the last payroll check given them was a partial payment for their services.
Superior Court Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama appointed Palacios in January 2005 to serve as receiver of the Pacific Gardenia Hotel.
In granting the request of the Commonwealth Development Authority to appoint Palacios, Lizama underscored the need to keep the receivership case move forward.
CDA sued the owners of the Gardenia Hotel and Sunset Bar and Grill for their failure to pay $2.4 million in loan, accrued interest and late charges.
Ronald Sablan is president of the Sy’s Corp. and was then the operations manager for the Pacific Gardenia. Sy’s Corp. operates Pacific Gardenia and the Sunset Bar and Grill in Chalan Kanoa.
