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Glad: I spent between $10K to $11K for mayor’s trip to India
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Posted on Mar 25 2008
Businessman Antony Glad reported that he spent over $11,000 for Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela’s recent trip to India.
“I used my credit card when I purchased those tickets. I have it all in black and white so if OPA [Office of the Public Auditor] asks me for records, I have them. They’re right here,” Glad said.
Glad said he does not understand why the mayor would say that it was the Indian government that paid for his trip “when I was the one who initiated this entire thing.”
He said it took about eight months to put together the mayor’s trip to India.
“He changed his mind three times,” Glad said.
He explained that making arrangements to go to India was not easy. “It was a dignitary trip that required security and all sorts of protocols,” Glad said.
According to Glad, Tudela changed his mind three times, offering separate excuses until finally deciding that it would be better if the mayor from India would be come to Saipan first.
Mayor Amit Shah of Ahmedabad City visited Saipan, at his own expense, in early February to sign the historic sister-cities agreement with the island of Saipan. A week later, the mayor was invited to India to sign a second-sister cities agreement with the city of Nadia.
Glad said the mayor had informed him that his office does not have the funds available for the trip. Glad said he responded with, “Okay. I will spend for you.”
“I gave him that courtesy because I didn’t want my country to lose faith in me, especially with my business contacts. I have been promising India the mayor’s trip for many times and he would always cancel so I just volunteered to go ahead and pay for it,” Glad said.
He said that he has been living on Saipan for 23 years now.
“My kids grew up here. I have many locals who are my friends. So during the times that the CNMI is going through such hardship, I just wanted to help the community. It’s ‘give back’ time. The island allowed me to stay, raise my family and was a very big part in helping me become a successful businessman,” Glad said.
