By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday refiled 13 misconduct charges against Lt. Gov. Dennis James C. Mendiola and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Lt. Justin Paul Mizutani, reviving a public-integrity case that collapsed last month over prosecutorial errors. The new filing does not include Homeland Security and Emergency Management employee Joey Vincent Dela Cruz, who was the third defendant in the dismissed case.
Penal summons direct Mendiola and Mizutani to appear before Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja on March 2, 2026, at 9 a.m.
New refiled allegations
The refiled 13-count case alleges that Mendiola and Mizutani misused public resources and facilitated unauthorized vehicle rentals and transports between 2022 and 2023.
According to the charges, Mendiola authorized the transport of private and rental vehicles on government-chartered vessels without lawful authority. Several of the transported vehicles were rental units, and the Commonwealth incurred more than $60,000 in unpaid rental fees.
One vehicle was transported without the rental company’s consent, forming the basis of a theft-related count, the prosecution said. Mendiola also approved or used multiple rental vehicles without budget authority, causing tens of thousands of dollars in losses to the government, the prosecution added.
Mizutani is accused of assisting in arranging or facilitating certain vehicle rentals and authorizations tied to the movement or use of vehicles that the prosecution said lacked proper approval.
According to the prosecution, both officials acted outside the scope of their lawful duties, constituting misconduct in public office.
Procedural errors
The Superior Court dismissed the original case without prejudice on Jan. 26 after Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found that prosecutors failed to comply with required criminal procedures. The dismissal vacated all future court dates and allowed the government to refile charges.
The ruling stemmed from the government’s failure to submit a court-ordered bill of particulars and its improper filing of a first amended information. Assistant Attorney General Olga Kelley argued that the amended filing satisfied the court’s order and did not require a separate motion for leave to amend under Rule 7(e) of the Commonwealth Rules of Criminal Procedure. Judge Camacho disagreed, writing that the government “ignored the Court’s Order” and misunderstood the distinction between a bill of particulars and an amended information.
Original case expanded before dismissal
Mendiola, Mizutani, and Dela Cruz were first charged in August 2025 with six counts of misconduct in public office and theft tied to alleged misuse of public funds and unauthorized vehicle rentals. The charges stemmed from a Public Integrity Task Force investigation into conduct between April 2022 and April 2023.
On Dec. 17, Judge Camacho granted Mendiola’s request for a bill of particulars, finding that the original information lacked sufficient detail for the defense to prepare for trial. Instead of providing the ordered particulars, Kelley filed a first amended information on Dec. 31, expanding the case from six to 17 counts and adding extensive factual details, including statutory citations, timelines, vehicle models and license plates, and an estimated $61,000 in unpaid vehicle rentals.
Defense attorneys argued that the government sidestepped the court’s directive. Mendiola’s attorney, Bruce Berline, said prosecutors had “muddied the waters” by filing a new charging document rather than supplying the required particulars. Attorneys Charity Hodson, representing Dela Cruz, and Joey San Nicolas, representing Mizutani, joined the motion to dismiss.
After the hearing, Mendiola said he expected the government might refile: “If they file the case, I have no choice but to face it again, but it’s not something I’m looking forward to.”
The newly refiled 13-count case restarts the prosecution, with proceedings expected to be assigned to Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo, Variety learned.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
