Man arrested for allegedly stealing NMC’s gas supply

An Office of the Public Auditor’s investigation led to the arrest on Friday of the Northern Marianas College maintenance manager for allegedly stealing the school’s gasoline supply for his personal use by using NMC’s open fleet card.

Phillip Aguon Fejeran Jr., 43, was taken before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho yesterday for a bail hearing on charges of theft and theft by deception.

A $5,000 cash bail was imposed on Fejeran. Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit was appointed as his counsel. Assistant attorney general Betsy Weintraub appeared for the government.

Preliminary hearing will be on May 16 at 1:30pm.

Police detective Peter Aldan, who is assigned at OPA, stated in his report that on two separate occasions in February 2012, Fejeran instructed a female student to park her car behind the NMC maintenance shop, where he then transferred gasoline from a 5-gallon container into the vehicle.

Aldan said the student, who was then dating Fejeran, confirmed the incident during an interview last Saturday.

Aldan said that, in September and October 2015, Fejeran allegedly instructed an NMC staff on two occasions to stand watch at the gated entrance to the NMC-Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Service parking area while he siphoned gasoline into a 5-gallon container out of CREES’ two vehicles for his personal use.

Aldan said a Shell Dandan receipt issued last March 7 showed a total of 16 gallons of gasoline worth $63 were purchased by Fejeran using an open container.

Later that same day, a Shell Dandan receipt showed that Fejeran bought 15 more gallons of gasoline worth $59.49 using an open container.

Both purchases were made under NMC’s open fleet card.

A Shell Dandan receipt issued last March 10 also showed that Fejeran bought 21 gallons of gasoline worth $81.45 using the NMC fleet card.

Aldan said the use of the gasoline could not be explained as there was no project being conducted at that time at the NMC campus.

Aldan said that, in an interview with another NMC staff, Fejeran allegedly instructed him numerous times to take a 5-gallon container full of gasoline from the NMC maintenance shop and deliver it to Fejeran’s house in Lower Dandan.

The NMC staff allegedly witnessed Fejeran transferring the gasoline from the container into his personal truck.

Aldan said last May 2, Fejeran allegedly instructed the NMC staff to bring a 5-gallon container full of gasoline from the NMC shop to the Koblerville gym.

When the staff reasoned out that the gym is too far, Fejeran instead allegedly instructed him to bring the gasoline to his house. Fejeran then allegedly transferred the gasoline into his vehicle.

The staff alleged that Fejeran has been acquiring gasoline from the NMC maintenance shop for his personal use for the past several years.

Aldan said that in June 2015, Fejeran also allegedly instructed an NMC maintenance staff to bring three rolls of electrical wire from the NMC maintenance shop to the residence of Fejeran’s brother-in-law in Dandan.

Allegedly at Fejeran’s instruction, the NMC staff installed 30 feet of electrical wirings at a gazebo at the Dandan house.

Aldan said that during an interview last Friday, the house owner confirmed that Fejeran offered the electrical wirings to him and for someone to install them at his gazebo for free.