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Villagomez: I still go to work every day
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Posted on Oct 31 2008
Lt. Gov. Timothy Villagomez said work has been business as usual for him.
“I go to work every single day,” he said. “I do exactly what the Governor tells me to do. I check up with the various offices. It’s business as usual, and is always business as usual.”
Villagomez, who has made few public appearances since his August indictment, attended a ceremony at the Commonwealth Health Center yesterday for departing CHC volunteer Kim Coats.
“I think this is a special occasion,” he said. “I’ve known Kim over the years. I hate to see her go, but my presence here is an indication of my support for her.”
His late father started the volunteer program, he added.
Villagomez said his brother, Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, asked him and Gov. Benigno Fitial to attend the ceremony if they have time.
“Joe requested the Governor and I stop by if we have time, and I do have time,” he said.
In August, Villagomez, former Commerce Secretary James Santos, his wife Joaquina Villagomez Santos, and former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director Anthony Guerrero were indicted on charges of conspiring to bilk CNMI and the U.S. government out of thousands of dollars through business deals involving chemical purchases for CUC. Villagomez’s trial, along with his co-defendants, has been set for March 23, 2009.
Since the indictment, Villagomez, who attended the ceremony with his wife, Margaret, has made few public appearances, including Fitial’s weekly press conferences. He said he was unable to attend Thursday’s press conference because he had a scheduling conflict.
“But the Governor and I have met, and we’re always in constant communication,” he added.
Villagomez said he asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to grant him permission to travel to Guam where his lawyer, David J. Lujan, is located because Lujan cannot always make it to the CNMI due to his busy schedule.
Asked if he had any Halloween plans, Villagomez said he was going to take his kids trick or treating and possibly dress up, although he did not know what he would wear because his wife was in charge of the costumes.
