Quichocho pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Shortly after Quichocho was charged in federal court, the CUC issued a memorandum last November designating Manuela Reyes as his replacement, but it did not indicate if he was no longer an employee of the utilities agency.
Designated Judge David Wiseman accepted the plea agreement signed by Quichocho and his attorney Michael Dotts, and the U.S. government, represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Benedetto who prosecuted the case.
On April 19, 2008, Quichocho was in possession with intent to distribute .037 grams of “ice,” the plea agreement stated.
On Nov. 10, 2009, Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Quichocho, then CUC Tinian resident director.
Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $1 million, the plea agreement stated.
Quichocho, who was released to a third party custodian, is facing six to 12 months in prison, and a fine from $2,000 to $20,000, according to the stipulated sentencing guidelines range that will be imposed on him under the plea agreement.
The court allowed Frances Quiochocho to be the defendant’s third party custodian, since Frances’s husband, attorney Ramon Quichocho, the designated third party custodian, would be off-island.
