Chief Parole Officer Nick Masga Reyes, 2nd left, enters the courtroom with his attorney, Joaquin DLG Torres, right foreground, on Wednesday.
ASSERTING his right to a speedy trial, Chief Parole Officer Nick Masga Reyes requested the court to schedule a jury trial as soon as possible in the forgery case filed against him.
The Office of the Attorney General has charged Reyes with one count of misconduct in public office and four counts of forgery.
At the trial-setting hearing on Wednesday, Reyes appeared with attorney Joaquin DLG Torres while the government was represented by Assistant Attorney General James Robert Kingman.
Torres asked the court to schedule a jury trial as soon as possible. “We will be ready for trial,” he added.
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, for his part, modified the court’s previous case management order and scheduled a jury trial for April 22, at 9 a.m. in courtroom 220A.
He also scheduled a pre-trial conference for March 20, at 10 a.m.
After the hearing, Kingman told reporters, “In this case, Mr. Reyes is charged with forgery — the other case is a conspiracy case, entirely a different matter.”
On Feb. 12, Reyes waived reading of the information, waived reading of his constitutional rights, and entered a plea of not guilty.
According to the information filed by the OAG, “On or about Dec. 20, 2023, on Saipan…, the Defendant…while a public official, to wit Chief Parole Officer, did an illegal act under color of office, to wit, committing the offense of forgery as defined by 6 CMC §1701, as made punishable by 6 CMC §3202(c) by imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years and a fine of not more than $50,000.00.”
“On or about December 20, 2023,” the information added, “the Defendant…forged a writing which was or purported to be a contract, to wit, a Request For Personnel Action, by altering the face to change the term of employment from 30 days to one year, such writing being a contract or other document creating, altering, terminating, or otherwise affecting legal relations, to wit, employment, as made unlawful by 6 CMC §1701(a)(2) and made punishable by 6 CMC §1701(c) by imprisonment of not more than five years.”
“With the intent to defraud or injure the Commonwealth or with knowledge that he was facilitating a fraud or injury to be perpetrated,” Reyes “altered a writing of another, to wit a Request for Personnel Action signed by the Governor of the Commonwealth, by altering the face to change the term of employment from 30 days to one year,” the information added.
“With the intent to defraud or injure the Commonwealth or the CNMI Board of Parole, or with knowledge that he was facilitating a fraud or injury to be perpetrated, [Reyes] made, completed, executed, authenticated, issued or transferred a writing that purported to be the act of another, to wit the Governor of the Commonwealth, who did not authorize the act, by altering the face of a Request for Personnel Action, to change the term of employment from 30 days to one year,” the information stated.
In a separate case, Reyes and co-defendant Chuilian Fu, owner of F&S Corporation, were charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and one count of theft by deception.
In that case, Reyes also pleaded not guilty.
According to the information filed by the OAG in Superior Court, on or about Oct. 4, 2022, on Saipan, “Nick Masga Reyes agreed with…Chuilian Fu, that one or both would engage in or solicit theft of property by deception, to wit, the construction of a patio at the Parole Office purported to be constructed by a tailoring company owned by Chuilian Fu’s F&S Corporation, in the amount of $9,997.80, but actually constructed by uncompensated labor performed by parolees under the direction of Nick Masga Reyes, made punishable by 6 CMC §1603.”
For this case, Presiding Judge Roberto Naraja scheduled a status conference for March 4 at 9 a.m. in courtroom 202A.
