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Sentencing of ex-CUC chief Guerrero postponed
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Posted on Jan 26 2009
The federal court has postponed the Feb. 27, 2009, sentencing of former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director Anthony C. Guerrero.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex R. Munson on Friday ordered that Guerrero’s Feb. 27 sentencing be taken off-calendar. He said the sentencing will be rescheduled at a later date.
The judge ordered the delay of the sentencing after Guerrero’s counsel, Robert T. Torres, and the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, requested to reset the sentencing hearing.
Torres and O’Malley agreed that because the jury trial for Guerrero’s co-defendants—former Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez, James Santos, and Joaquina Santos—has been rescheduled to March 30, 2009, postponing the sentencing hearing until after the conclusion of that trial would be appropriate.
Munson approved the agreement of the parties to put off the sentencing.
Villagomez, the Santos couple, and Guerrero were accused of engaging in a scheme to bilk the CNMI government out of thousands of dollars with a series of needless chemical purchases.
The U.S. government has filed new charges against Villagomez and the Santos couple, adding bribery to the three charges already being faced by the three.
Villagomez and the Santos couple pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Guerrero, however, entered a plea deal last Aug. 11 with the U.S. government. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, an offense that may cost him up to five years in prison or probation.
