By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

(2nd of a series)

FOR more than two years, Guam taxpayers forked out an average of $200 per hour to more than a dozen Washington, D.C. workers who would make phone calls, read stories about the island, and wine and dine in the capital’s restaurants.
These “tasks” cost Guam almost half a million dollars in public funds funneled by the Guam Superior Court to Greenberg Traurig, the lobbying firm of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Capitol power broker.
Greenberg Traurig was retained by Guam Superior Court Presiding Judge Alberto Lamorena and former Guam Superior Court administrative director Tony Sanchez to win a turf fight over who would control the reigns of Guam’s judicial administrative power.
Detailed billing records have been turned over to the House Committee on Government Reform, including descriptions of professional services rendered to the Guam court.
From Nov. 13, 2001 to March 13, 2003, Guam paid the likes of Abramoff, Michael Williams, Neil G. Volz, Kevin Ring, Todd A. Boulanger, Lindsey Crisler, Brigham Pierce, Douglas Heron, Stephanie Short, Michael D. Smith, Duane R. Gibson, Jane Gumbrewicz, Jon W. Van Horne, Shana Tesler and a paralegal clerk to dine with congressmen and staff on the pretext that they were strategizing about the Guam judiciary.
Williams, a senior director of Greenberg Traurig, charged Guam $750 for spending two hours in Congress to talk about the Guam Judicial Empowerment Act.
His phone call to Congress cost Guam $600 and when he handed a letter to a Congress staffer, he charged the island $660, not to mention the Verizon cellular phone call bills that were added to the Guam account.
On July 29, 2002, he discussed with House and Senate members a bill filed by former Congressman Robert Underwood, and his price tag for three hours and 40 minutes was $1,020.
He would prepare for the same kind of meeting with members of the House of Representatives for more than two and a half hours and would charge Guam $720.
The same person reviewed a letter for almost three hours and charged Guam $840.
Another staffer like Gibson would somehow find a way to revise the letter for an hour and then charge a separate $360, all coming from Guam’s coffers.
Williams bought refreshments for Capitol Hill employees or stayed at the Westside Hotel, dining with Republican staffers, and paying his dues at a golf club with Guam money.
Crisler, a Williams staffer, cost Guam at least $135 for every hour that she spent reading clips and publications about the island. On several occasions, she would visit the House for her boss and the price tag would be $140.13 per hour.
Meal tickets
But among the list of charges, the “business” meals were always at the top of the list.
The expenses included a quick bite at Taco Bell or expensive dinners at Abramoff’s Signatures restaurant.
Records of expenses billed to Guam showed that Williams loved to play golf and drink, while Todd Boulanger loved dining.
Boulanger, a Republican activist, frequented Signatures for lunch and dinner. Sometimes, he would bring Senate staffers who he normally met at Abramoff’s restaurant via a taxi ride also paid for by Guam taxpayers.
Everywhere Boulanger ate, he would charge it to Guam and whatever he decided to do, he would charge for his hours. When he monitored House floor developments regarding the Guam judiciary, he charged $240 per hour and when he lifted a phone to call a House staffer, he charged another $168.
Fare tickets
While Greenberg Traurig staff used Guam money for taxi fare around Washington, D.C., Abramoff, the boss, would hire limousine service at Guam’s expense.
Former Senator Mark Charfauros, who was the only local official who admitted his link with the disgraced lobbyist, traveled at a cost of $4,300, which Abramoff charged to his Guam clients. The invoice date was May 9, 2002, but the actual trip transpired on Feb. 28, 2002.
Concert and parking tickets
Guam taxpayers also paid for Bruce Springsteen concert tickets on Aug. 6, 2002, which were bought by Ring for a Senate staffer for $85 and an Encore ticket paid by island taxpayers for Volz on Dec. 5, 2002.
Boulanger went for a Grim Deeper fishing trip on Aug. 19, 2002, billed Guam for the gas he used, plus a 7-Eleven purchase and a parking ticket.
Triple whammy
Guam taxpayers were also hit three times over for every occasion that the lobbyists met in their favorite dining spot, the defunct restaurant of Abramoff.
The lobbyists earned their hourly rate using Guam for their meetings, would bill the local court for their meals, and would contribute to the earnings of Abramoff’s restaurant.
Even before Abramoff sent an engagement letter on May 23, 2002, Boulanger had started charging Guam for his dinner at the restaurant on May 9, 2002.
As reflected in his expense billings, Boulanger dined at Signatures more than a dozen times while Williams hosted a dozen luncheon and dinner meetings in the same restaurant.
In fact, Boulanger had a dinner at Signatures on Oct. 9, 2002 and charged it to Guam although the meeting was with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Abramoff treated Guam the same way he treated his other clients including the Native American groups.
Federal documents indicated that the restaurant was a favorite of Republican power brokers such as Reps. Bob Ney of Ohio, Dana Rohrabacher of California, and former House Majority Leader Tom Delay of Texas whose meals were often complimentary.
Lawyers, lobbyists and several lawmakers thought that their food and liquor were free but those free tabs were reflected in the billing records of Abramoff’s defrauded clients.
The famous Washington, D.C. restaurant was also the venue for the first meeting of Abramoff, Lamorena, and Sanchez. According to California-based attorney Howard Hills, he was present but only stayed for brief pleasantries.
Abramoff’s restaurant closed on Nov. 16, 2005, after media and congressional scrutiny of Abramoff and his dealings became intense.
In the description of services, the word “research” was the most overused term. The timekeepers at Greenberg Traurig stated that they did some research on Guam.
Such was the work description of Hills, who was retained by Judge Lamorena to spend a great deal of time researching complex questions on international and territorial law.
When Hills hired a subcontractor, Manase Masur, who was recommended by the presiding judge, his job was to do research for the court.
Wasted monies
Despite the research and studies done, plus the amount of money paid, the lobbying effort did not succeed.
According to Hills’ attorney Carol Elder Bruce, in her letter to Guam Judiciary Staff Attorney Bruce A. Bradley, Abramoff actually won the turf fight for the Superior Court for a period of time until public revelations about the lobbyist’s involvement in the lobbying forced a reversal.
The present administration of the Guam Judiciary is trying to recover some money from Hills who, according to Bradley, did not provide any supporting documents to show the work he did for the court.
The Guam judiciary is asking Hills to return the $20,000 retainer paid by the Superior Court of Guam on June 18, 1998, but Bruce said that there are no funds to be refunded because the amount covered Hills’ legal services for the period of April 7, 1998 through January 2001.
Bruce also refused to provide copies of Hills’ documents regarding his contract and payments, explaining that her client is a solo practitioner and does not bill his clients separately, and that he does not provide detailed billing statements all the time.