Ramona Villagomez Manglona
His attorney, David Banes, has said that Atalig’s co-defendants in the Superior Court case have crucial information for the defense, but could not testify truthfully for fear of being indicted federally.
“If we have the right immunity, the immunity according to the statute [it] would compel them to testify,” he added.
But according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, “They want to call these witnesses to testify in a way that will be directly in contradiction to what our investigators have heard, and to consent to it. I have never heard that before.”
Citing the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Petite Policy,” Judge Manglona said she finds no reason to further delay the trial. She then denied the motion for continuance.
Trial will proceed on March 10 she added.
According to an online legal dictionary, Petite Policy refers to “a housekeeping provision of the U.S. Justice Department that following a state prosecution there should be no federal prosecution for the same transaction in the absence of compelling federal interests.”
Mayor Atalig and his girlfriend Evelyn Atalig have been charged in federal court with conspiracy, wire fraud, theft from program receiving federal funds, and two counts of false statements.
They are accused of orchestrating CNMI-government-funded trips to California, Palau, Guam, and Saipan from February 2018 to August 2018.
The mayor’s co-defendants in case filed in the CNMI Superior Court served or are still serving as his resident directors.
Three of them — Vanessa Charfauros, Magdalena Mesngon, and Dexter Apatang — have already disposed of the cases against them through a plea agreement with the CNMI Attorney General’s Office.
Besides the mayor, the remaining defendants in the CNMI case are Dean Manglona, Eusebio Manglona, Josepha Manglona, and Dennis Mendiola.
They were charged with misconduct in public office for taking government-funded per diem and salary compensation to attend a Republican Party rally on Guam on June 23, 2018.
Their CNMI jury trial starts on March 30, 2020.
The AG’s office recently granted “use immunity” to the Rota officials who have not resolved their cases to avoid further delay in the local and federal court trials.
