AGO pushes 5-yr. jail term, no parole for ex-CTC chair

The Attorney General’s Office wants James Michael P. Fitzgerald, the former chairman of the defunct Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission, to be put behind bars for five years without possibility of parole.

“Public confidence demands a stance be taken against corrupt public officials such as Mr. Fitzgerald,” according to special assistant attorney general Joseph J. Przyuski of the AGO’s White Collar Crime/Government Corruption Task Force.

Przyuski recommended to the Superior Court a sentence of 10 years in prison, all suspended except for five years, with no possibility for parole.

Fitzgerald was convicted of theft for stealing $88,202.92 from CTC by issuing unauthorized checks to himself.

The defendant signed a plea agreement with the government and pleaded guilty to five counts of theft in November 2008.

Under the plea agreement, the government agreed to dismiss with finality all remaining charges and will not argue for a term exceeding five years in prison. It was also agreed that Fitzgerald would pay back the government.

The sentencing was set for March 4, 2009 at 9am.

In the government’s sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday, Przyuski pointed out that Fitzgerald deceived the public by stealing over $88,000 in public funds.

“In so doing he compromised the public’s confidence in its government and government’s officials. Defendant might not be the classic example of a machete-wielding violent criminal, but his actions are equally offensive and dangerous to our freedoms in a democratic society,” Przyuski said.

The prosecutor said if the possibility for parole were not eliminated, a five-year unsuspended sentence could potentially be reduced to as little as 20 months in prison.

He also recommended that Fitzgerald be placed on supervised probation upon release from jail for the remaining five years of the suspended sentence.

Przyuski said the type of activity Fitzgerald engaged in helped earn the CNMI its recent “accolades” as one of the most corrupt jurisdictions per capita in the country, as reported in local newspapers.

The prosecutor pointed out that, despite the entry of his plea and acceptance of the record of the factual basis to support his guilty plea, Fitzgerald continues to deny responsibility for his crimes.

Przyuski cited the pre-sentence reported prepared by the Office of Adult Probation that mentioned defendant’s continued excuses.

“This time, he claimed he wrote checks to himself to repay for expenses he paid personally to vendors because the vendors refused checks from CTC,” he said.

When asked by a probation officer why he pleaded guilty if he did nothing wrong, the lawyer said, Fitzgerald blamed the government for misplacing exculpatory evidence when CTC was abolished and transitioned to the Public Utilities Commission.

“Where the trust and confidence is violated, our system of government is undermined. Nothing short of the maximum sentence allowable for each count will adequately punish defendant, send the proper deterrent message to potential offenders, and rebuild the public’s confidence in the enforcement of its laws,” he added.