FLASHBACK

MAY 5, 2005

CHARGES VS STANLEY DISMISSED

More than a week after a rumored settlement, the Attorney General’s Office asked the Superior Court yesterday to dismiss the criminal charges against former congressman Stanley Torres, ending the more than one-year-old case in a proceeding that lasted only one minute. When the proceeding started at about 9:42am, deputy attorney general Clyde Lemons Jr. told Judge Juan T. Lizama that he is filing a pleading. He approached the judge and handed the document to the magistrate. The judge then dismissed all 20 charges against Torres and the 30 charges against co-defendant Dorothy Sablan.

’40 PERCENT OF OFFICIALS FAIL TO SUBMIT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS’

About half of the government officials and employees required to submit financial disclosure statements missed this year’s filing deadline. Public auditor Michael Sablan reported yesterday that his office had received only 289 financial disclosure statements as of the May 2 deadline. This represents only 60 percent of the 478 individuals required to file the document pursuant to the CNMI Code of Ethics.

MAY 5, 2004

$10M BOND PUSHED IN VERIZON DEAL

Before the proposed purchase of Verizon’s local carrier becomes a done deal, Gov. Juan N. Babauta and the CNMI’s consumer counsel proposed yesterday that enforcement procedures be set up and that Pacific Telecom Inc. be required to post a $10-million bond to ensure that the company will not violate the conditions of an approved settlement.

BABAUTA: MALL SHUTDOWN ‘TEMPORARY’

Gov. Juan N. Babauta urged the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents to explore all possibilities to keep the Pacific Gateway project afloat, following a decision last week to close down the La Fiesta mall. The governor pressed board officials to work on a solution to the problem and have a little more initiative in looking at how to tap additional help from the administration and the Legislature.

MAY 5, 2003

SURVEY AFFIRMS AWARENESS OF GARMENT INDUSTRY

A group of students from the Northern Marianas College Current Issues class has completed an extensive research project on Saipan’s garment industry. Entitled “Seduced by the Garment Industry, Destroyed by the WTO/GATT Agreement: The CNMI Economy and You,” the survey of 500 people confirmed that roughly 50 percent were concerned about negative economic consequences and the loss of their jobs if the industry exited the Commonwealth.

MONTGOMERY PLACED IN CUSTODY

The U.S. District Court ordered Friday that Bert Douglas Montgomery, the businessman who is facing multiple wire fraud charges for allegedly defrauding the Bank of Saipan of several millions of dollars, be held under federal custody. Chief Judge Alex R. Munson issued the order in a hearing Friday afternoon, after Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Smith informed the court that Montgomery violated a condition of his pretrial release. Smith said Montgomery went to the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino Thursday even if a court order that prohibits him from leaving Saipan was still in effect.

May 5, 2000

TENO PRESSES FOR CLEANUP OF PCB

The Northern Marianas government will demand complete and extensive cleanup of the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Tanapag to ensure safety for village residents, according to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio. “I will not be satisfied until it has been resolved and they have cleaned up the area of contamination,” he told reporters in an interview yesterday.

LANG: CUC OFFICIALS IGNORANT, INCOMPETENT

Former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio yesterday unleashed fresh attacks against officials of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, accusing them as incompetent and ignorant of the laws in administering operations of the government-owned company. Because of potential illegal actions by its board, he sought an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office into their policy, practices and performance on the heels of critical decisions approved by directors in recent weeks.