By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

THE Guam Baseball Federation turned over the keys to Paseo Stadium Wednesday night without incident after the court approved the termination of GBF’s 50-year lease agreement with the Department of Parks and Recreation, which had petitioned for the eviction of GBF.
DPR filed the petition after finding that GBF commissioner Mark Charfauros “forged” the copy of the lease contract in order to take full control of the stadium.
Charfauros, a former Democratic senator, was off island when DPR director Joseph Duenas testified in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Katherine Maraman that the public-private partnership was not observed by GBF.
During a hearing Wednesday morning, DPR lawyer, Deputy Attorney General William “Bill” Bischoff, presented copies of the amended lease contract and the original version of the agreement.
Charfauros made some questionable amendment in the lease that provides GBF more control over the stadium.
In an amended copy of the lease provided by Charfauros on Sept. 6, 2006, the GBF commissioner improperly reworded some paragraphs so that GBF would be the sole custodian of the Municipal Stadium Operations Fund, or MSOF, account and only GBF could deliver a copy of its mandatory Public Liability and Property Damage Insurance Policy to DPR each year.
The questionable changes in the contract also included a provision by which amendments of the lease could be entered into with the signatures of only the GBF Commissioner and the DPR director.
The original clause requires the signatures of the governor of Guam and had to be approved by the Legislature.
Bischoff said Charfauros improperly reworded and altered the 50-year contract agreement.
DPR and GBF entered into a partnership agreement for 50 years, requiring GBF to provide DPR and the Office of the Public Auditor with an annual audited statement of the MSOF.
The statement was to be provided no later than March 15 of each year. The MSOF is the account where all stadium revenues were to be deposited.
However, Duenas said GBF failed to provide such financial statements and meet its obligations to pay the lease and the utilities.
Originally, GBF was expected to pay not more than $4,000 a year but an amended lease agreement required them to pay an annual rental of only $1per year.
The new rental started on Jan. 1, 2005.
Duenas said they started asking for financial reports from Charfauros after they learned that GBF had failed to pay its power bill that came to more than $30,000.
“We tried to make the partnership work. The last thing we wanted to do was to go to court but despite of our effort, they did not heed our plea so we had to bring up this issue that has had a negative impact on the island,” Duenas told Variety.
After the game Wednesday night, GFB returned the keys to DPR officials peacefully — an indication that Charfauros does not intend to fight the present administration.