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Kato wants public lawyer to help him clear his name
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Posted on Feb 12 2009
Claiming he can’t afford to pay attorney’s fee anymore, Japanese businessman Hideo Kato said he is hoping that the Public Defender’s Office will represent him in clearing his name from allegations that he was engaged in illegal gambling.
Kato’s first lawyer, Antonio M. Atalig, is in jail for civil contempt. His second counsel, attorney Victorino Torres, withdrew as his lawyer last week.
Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo set a status conference for March 12, 2009, telling Kato to come up with a new lawyer on that day.
The jury trial was set for Oct. 12, 2009.
Kato told Saipan Tribune that he wants to pursue a trial because he is not guilty of the charges.
“I want to have a trial, but I can’t afford to pay a lawyer now. Because of this case I lost my businesses, I lost my face, I lost many friends,” the 72-year-old businessman said.
Kato hopes the Public Defender’s Office will assist him in getting justice.
He emphasized that there was never any intent to operate an illegal gambling joint as their goal was simply to put up a “charity casino” to help the poor people on Saipan pay for their electric billings.
Kato spent eight days at the Department of Corrections after the Attorney General’s Investigative Unit raided an alleged illegal casino at Victoria Hotel in western Garapan on Aug. 24, 2007.
The Attorney General’s Office charged Kato and businessman Byoong Seob Choi with 119 counts of illegal gambling activity and unlawful employment of aliens.
Choi recently pleaded “no contest” to two counts of unlawful employment of aliens. He was sentenced to three years probation.
