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No CNMI counsel appears at status conference for Fitial payment plan
No one appeared for the CNMI government during Wednesday’s scheduled status conference on how former governor Benigno R. Fitial will pay the $6,000 fine and $100 court assessment fee imposed on him.
Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman reset the conference to Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 9am.
At Wednesday’s status conference, only Fitial’s counsel, attorney Stephen Nutting, appeared in court.
Office of the Public Auditor legal counsel George Hasselback told Saipan Tribune yesterday that there was no indication that the Superior Court would open at that time due to the lack of power and water supply. Hasselback served as special prosecutor in the case.
Last July 6, Wiseman directed the government to file its claim for restitution against Fitial on or before Sept. 10, 2015.
In a post-sentencing order, Wiseman said any objection to the government’s claim for restitution shall be filed within 10 days thereafter.
Pursuant to the sentence and commitment order issued June 26, 2015, Fitial was required to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later time.
The judge further ordered a status conference for Aug. 12, 2015, to determine the status and/or plan for payment of the $6,000 fine and the $100 court assessment fee. If the fine and assessment fee are paid prior to Aug. 12, the matter will be taken off calendar, Wiseman said.
In an earlier interview, Nutting said the former governor would “absolutely pay the amount” before the hearing.
Nutting said they are anxious to see what the government will come up in terms of the restitution, he said.
A check with Fitial’s file in this case showed that the government has yet to file its restitution claim.
Wiseman sentenced Fitial to a year in prison. The former governor was supposed to start serving his prison term last July 6, but Gov. Eloy S. Inos commuted the jail term.
Fitial pleaded guilty last May 13 to misconduct in public office and conspiracy to commit theft of services as part of a plea deal.
He is the first governor of the CNMI to be convicted of crimes.
