He said Antonio Dela Cruz, the mayor’s brother, was on a charter flight on Feb. 9, 2010.
Roy Reyes and group had two travels on Feb. 13 and 14, 2010 at $180 each flight for six persons. Roy Reyes is the son of the mayor’s sister, Atalig said.
Carmen Farrell and group had one travel on Feb. 16, 2010 for two persons at $60. She is the sister of the mayor.
Atalig said an invoice indicated that the “Dela Cruz Family” traveled on Feb. 19, 2010 with six persons for $180.
“If they were a non-Dela Cruz family could they claim to be reimbursed for their chartered flight?” he asked.
Atalig, a former Saipan municipal council member, said he has lots of questions regarding the Feb. 2010 travel authorization of Mayor Dela Cruz.
He said the documents never mentioned the purpose of the travels of Antonio Dela Cruz, Roy Reyes, Carmen Farrell and other members of the mayor’s family.
One travel authorization indicated that the mayor would travel from Tinian to Saipan and then to Guam to attend the Association of Mariana Islands Mayors, Vice Mayors and Municipal Council Members organizational meeting from Feb. 9 to 12, 2010.
The check showed that the mayor received $84 for a Freedom Air ticket, $420 per diem and $1,500 for “miscellaneous expenses,” Atalig said.
He said invoice 0210-7 showed that on Feb. 12, 2010, the mayor and Allen Perez, the acting municipal treasurer, chartered a Star Marianas flight.
From Feb. 16 to 23, 2010, he said the mayor was in Manila to attend the Annual Pacific Island Local Government Conference.
For that travel, Atalig said, the mayor received $1,120 per diem and $2,500 for miscellaneous expenses.
“How did he spend the $2,500 that was advanced to him? Did he have receipts to justify any expenditure?” Atalig asked.
As of yesterday, he had not received any reply to his letter to the mayor dated Jan. 25.
Atalig noted that the mayor earlier said that he, Dela Cruz, had “nothing to hide.”
The mayor was off-island yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Another travel authorization showed that the mayor traveled to Saipan to attend the 2010 Liberation Day parade and the court hearing of John Edward Untalan from July 2 to 6, 2010. He also traveled to Guam to participate in the territory’s Liberation Day on July 20-22, 2010.
For these two travels, Atalig said, the mayor received $2,278 for plane tickets, per diem, car rental and miscellaneous expenses.
Atalig said documents showed that the mayor received a plane ticket from Freedom Air but it was Star Marianas that billed the mayor’s office for a chartered flight.
“Star Marianas invoice no. 0710-8 shows that on July 23, 2010, you and your wife chartered a flight on Star Marianas,” Atalig said in a letter to the mayor. “What happened to the $168 that was already advanced to you and your wife for the Freedom Air ticket? Did you and your wife return it?” he asked.
Atalig said the mayor is treating the municipal treasury as his own personal bank.
He said he will ask the Office of Public Auditor to investigate the mayor’s handling of public funds.
“Dela Cruz may not even serve his full term,” he said.
Since he was sworn in last Jan. 2010, Dela Cruz has already spent over $34,000 on travels, according documents obtained by Atalig through the Open Government Act.
The mayor, in an earlier interview, denied committing any wrongdoing.
