AS Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr. will be off-island, Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Alberto E. Tolentino has granted the stipulation of the parties to reschedule the hearing on the conflict-of-interest notice filed by the Office of the Attorney General.
Represented by Glass, the AG’s office has asked the Superior Court to look into possible conflict of interest in the representation of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres by attorneys Viola Alepuyo and Anthony Aguon who have also represented two government witnesses.
The court earlier set a hearing date for May 27.
Glass, however, will be off-island on May 27, and his co-counsel, Assistant AG Steve Kessel, will be prosecuting a vehicular homicide case whose jury trial starts on May 23, and is expected to last at least a week.
On Friday, Judge Tolentino moved the hearing schedule for the government’s conflict of interest notice to May 24 at 3 p.m.
The governor’s motion to disqualify the Office of the AG will still be heard starting on May 31, at 9 a.m., the judge added.
Torres has pled not guilty to the criminal case filed against him by the AG’s office, alleging 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or first lady Diann T. Torres.
The case also alleges one count of contempt for the governor’s failure to appear in compliance with a House committee subpoena.
For their part, the governor’s lawyers have filed a motion to have the AG’s office withdraw or be disqualified as prosecutor.
They noted that Attorney General Edward Manibusan himself flew first class, adding that the “AG is prosecuting [the] governor for an alleged violation in which the AG provided legal advice.”
