Operator of alleged illegal casino gets 3 years probation

One of two businessmen accused as operators of an illegal casino in western Garapan in 2007 entered a plea of “no contest” on Friday and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo accepted Byoong Seob Choi’s plea of “no contest” to two counts of illegal use of nonresident workers in an unlawful enterprise.

Following a plea agreement, Govendo sentenced Choi to three years in jail, all suspended.

The judge placed the businessman on one year of supervised probation and two years of unsupervised probation.

Govendo ordered Choi to pay a $4,000 fine and forfeited the $11,933 cash, gambling tables, and other gambling paraphernalia seized by authorities during the raid on Aug. 24, 2008.

The judge told Choi to seek attorney’s advice and not to listen to former politicians before getting involved in a controversial industry like gambling.

“Don’t listen to former politicians!” said Govendo as he advised Choi to talk to his counsel, Michael Dotts, before hiring some aliens in doing business.

Former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio was among some former politicians implicated by the Attorney General’s Office in that alleged illegal casino operation. Tenorio, however, was never charged.

The Attorney General’s Office charged Choi and Hideo Kato with 119 counts for illegal gambling and using alien workers in an unlawful enterprise.

For entering a “no contest” to two counts, the remaining charges against Choi were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Dotts told Saipan Tribune that his client disputed that he was guilty because he was led to believe and his understanding was everything he did was correct and lawful.

“No contest means you don’t admit that what you did was wrong but you are agreeing not to contest the government and he did that in exchange for plea agreement,” Dotts said.

The lawyer said the defendants were basically told by people who they thought they could trust that everything was legal.

“In fact they had advertisement for the Victoria casino. They had a big banner in front. On one occasion somebody gambling didn’t pay the gambling debt. These guys (defendants) actually called the Department of Public Safety to come and arrest the gambler,” Dotts said.

“So if you think it’s an illegal gambling, you would not call DPS to come and help you with somebody not paying the gambling debt,” he added.

Attorney General’s Investigative Unit agents raided the alleged illegal casino establishment located on the ground floor or the Victoria Hotel in Garapan on Aug. 24, 2007.