HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Hågat Mayor Kevin Susuico is asking the court to dismiss the corruption charges against him.
Susuico is named as a defendant in the case involving Richard Ybanez, who faces charges related to his role as interim executive manager of Guam Regional Transit Authority between April 2022 and May 2023 without having a “requisite college degree.”
Susuico’s attorney, Peter Santos, filed a motion on Friday to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, citing inappropriate prosecution.
“Based on the indictment and the discovery that the people have provided, it appears that the people are proffering a theory of the case that there was a conspiracy among all the defendants in the case to unlawfully deprive the government of Guam and the ridership of the Guam regional Transit Authority of funds by appointing Richard Ybanez as the GRTA interim executive manager when he was not qualified to hold the position,” the motion stated.
Susuico was charged with theft by complicity, conspiracy for misapplication of entrusted funds, misapplication of entrusted funds and official misconduct.
Susuico wants the charges dropped on the basis the defendants have critically different roles as it pertains to the governing and operations of GRTA. Susuico sits on the GRTA board of directors. He, along with Inalåhan Mayor Anthony Chargualaf were appointed to the board by the Guam Mayors’ Council pursuant to the GRTA bylaws, according to the motion.
The motion to dismiss presents the argument that “Mayor Kevin Susuico and Mayor Anthony Chargualaf are different from all other defendants.”
The motion states Ibanez was appointed as interim executive manager upon the recommendation of the governor after the sudden departure of Celestine Babauta and that to construe the board’s appointment of him as a criminal conspiracy for theft, misapplication of entrusted funds crimes against the community and official misconduct “is not only inappropriate, it’s preposterous, ludicrous and absurd.”
The motion presents five arguments toward the point, to include that, “in the interest of justice,” the case against Susuico should be dismissed with prejudice to “prevent absurd application” of criminal law, pursuant to the Guam Code Annotated.
“The act of voting to approve an interim executive manager was absolutely not what was envisaged by the Guam Legislature to be forbidden by any of the charges in this case against Mayor Susuico,” the motion states.
Santos also argues that Suisico cannot legally be found guilty of theft by complicity because he didn’t promote or assist in the alleged crimes, noting that liability for omission isn’t available as a theory of legal culpability.
The motion contends “the people are likewise misguided” in the application of the crimes against the community charge.
“A crime against the community contemplates tangible property or services, not theft (of) funds. It would lead to an absurd result if the people’s ridiculous application of this statute were deemed appropriate,” the motion said.
For the charges of misapplication of entrusted funds, Santos argues that Susuico isn’t a fiduciary.
“No funds were ever entrusted to him in the sense contemplated by the statute. Yes, the board of directors are fiduciaries in the generic sense of the word. The statute, however, contemplates someone who has been explicitly appointed and exercises control over assets held in an established trust or who is explicitly responsible for property of the government,” the motion argued.
The final argument for dismissal states Susuico can’t be found guilty of official misconduct.
“Again, Mayor Kevin Susuico did vote to approve the recommendation of the governor of Guam to appoint Richard Ybanez as an interim executive manager. This was not an unauthorized exercise of official functions,” the motion argued.
Hågat Mayor Kevin Susuico, a Guam Regional Transit Authority board member, walks to a pre-trial conference at the Superior Court of Guam in Hagåtña on Aug. 22, 2023.
