During cross examination, AMPRO president John Scott testified he was “disappointed and angry” when he learned what really happened, a week after he transmitted $3,000 to Reksid’s bank account on Saipan on Feb. 12, 2009.
Reksid used the money in connection with an “Ivory Coast” money scam, Scott testified.
Scott said he was on Guam when Reksid called his residence.
Scott said he was requested by Reksid if he could provide an “emergency” loan because Reksid’s brother had died.
Reksid said the money would be used for funeral expenses, Scott said.
Reksid “needed immediately” cash money at that time, Scott said, adding that he remitted cash through Reksid’s bank account.
“He lied,” Scott testified, referring to Reksid whom he met on Saipan a week after Scott extended the $3,000 “short-term loan.”
Reksid “asked for more money” when they personally met, Scott said.
He later learned from Reksid that the defendant was involved in what turned out to be a money scam.
Scott said he explained to Reksid that he was being scammed, but the DPL official continued asking him for more money.
Reksid’s continuing requests for more money continued and occurred in February and March 2009. During that time, AMPRO submitted an invoice to DPL regarding the Brownsfield program, Scott said, during cross-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. O’Malley, who is prosecuting the bribery case.
Scott testified he didn’t know what Reksid was doing “behind the scenes” at DPL regarding AMPRO’s contract.
Scott said he did not ask Reksid for any favor.
O’Malley told jurors Reksid extended three benefits to Scott: favorable treatment on invoicing, recommendation for extension, and improper routing of an amended contract.
During direct examination by defense lawyer Mark Hanson, Scott described Reksid as a “friend” who was in a “family crisis” at that time.
“My heart went out” to Reksid, Scott said.
He said there was no relationship between Reksid’s loan and the AMPRO contract.
“It was a person to person loan,” Scott testified, adding his company did not receive expedited payments from DPL.
The defense rested its case yesterday morning after presenting its witnesses: Scott, and James Callier, former special assistant to Division of Environmental Quality director Frank Rabauliman.
Visiting Senior Judge Michael A. Ponsor for the District of Massachusetts, who is presiding over the jury trial, will hear closing arguments on Thursday.
Reksid decided not to testify.
Scott loaned money “out of kindness and compassion” to Reksid who is “a friend in need,” Hanson told jurors on Tuesday.
Hanson said his client didn’t ask for a bribe, and the government has the burden to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Reksid is guilty as charged.
Also on Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency special agent Michael Janiga testified that EPA extended $550,000 in grants to the CNMI government for environmental programs, such as Brownsfield.
He said $350,000 went for the clearing of the unexploded ordnance in the Marpi area, and the remaining $200,000 was for a petroleum cleanup.
Phases 1 and 2 of the contract, amounting to $297, 152, ended in 2008.
It was covered by an independent contractor agreement signed on Oct. 1, 2007 between DPL and AMPRO.
Janiga said after the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacted him in 2009, he conducted an investigation with Reksid, then the Brownsfield manager, as the target.
Janiga said there’s no embezzlement, but there’s a “sign of impropriety” on how Reksid handled the Brownsfield program.
Janiga said Reksid admitted asking for a “loan” from Scott.
The AMPRO president initially did not mention Reksid’s loan, Janiga said.
When confronted by Janiga and the FBI last year, Scott told federal investigators that he did not mention Reksid’s loan because he did not want the loan “to look like a kickback.”
Janiga testified that Reksid had not repaid the loan, and Scott “did not care to get the money back.”
The prosecution presented a bank statement regarding Scott’s transfer of $3,000 to Reksid’s bank account on Feb. 12, 2009.
At that time, the prosecution said, DPL and AMPRO contract had already expired.
Afterward, Reksid started issuing memoranda in favor of Scott which included a change order for the Brownsfield contract, but this appeared to be an amended 2007 contract with AMPRO.
The contract now amounted to $497,152, or an increase of $200,000, covering the period from March 1, 2009 to Feb. 28, 2010.
The prosecution said it was stipulated in the 2009 “contract” that there should be a competitive sealed proposals for project.
But Hanson said the prosecution is presenting “a picture out of context,” and not the “whole movie.”
Hanson said his client came in late into the program, and did not participate in the selection of the contractor. It was a committee that included EPA that made the selection, he added.
The defense said EPA extended another $200,000 grant to complete the Marpi clearing project that was delayed due to the presence of an endangered species in the area.
Reksid was indicted last November. He was released after issuing a $25,000 unsecured bond.
