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Bribery charges filed against former DOC officer
The federal court has indicted a former Department of Corrections officer on charges of bribery after allegedly receiving bribes from prisoners.
Former Department of Corrections officer Rainier Relado Deleon Guerrero has been charged with receiving a bribe and conspiracy to bribe a public official for allegedly receiving methamphetamine and $500 cash in exchange for smuggling a cell phone into prison.
According to the indictment issued against Deleon Guerrero and two others, their case involved a conspiracy to smuggle a cellular phone with a charger into the Saipan prison for federal inmate Qiu Shuo in exchange for methamphetamine and $500 cash to be paid to Deleon Guerrero in January 2022.
Deleon Guerrero’s co-defendants are Shou Qiu, also known as Ike, and Jiang Guang Zhang, aka Fat Brother.
The indictment stated that Qiu solicited the assistance of Deleon Guerrero from inside the prison, and Deleon Guerrero relied on his friend “GG” to coordinate with Qiu’s friend, Zhang, to facilitate the transaction.
It added that GG allowed Deleon Guerrero to use GG’s phone to communicate with Zhang. GG also communicated with Zhang on behalf of Deleon Guerrero, the indictment stated.
“After Zhang delivered methamphetamine and cash to Deleon Guerrero, GG reaped the reward of facilitating the exchange by smoking some of the methamphetamine with Deleon Guerrero” the indictment stated.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, Qiu was previously charged in federal court with one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Qiu’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 25, 2023. He is currently detained at the Saipan prison.
In a pending case in CNMI Superior Court, Zhang has been charged with two counts of trafficking, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
