U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex R. Munson originally set the jury trial to begin at 9 a.m. today but he moved it to 1 p.m.
Munson has summoned 227 prospective jurors who will be narrowed down to 12, with one or two alternates.
Following the jury selection, the prosecution and defense lawyers will start their opening arguments.
The federal court last week denied the motion filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. O’Malley to seal the witness list of the prosecution from the public and only make the list available to the defense.
The defense opposed the government’s motion.
Munson stated that the federal government did not give sufficient reasons for filing the motion to put the witness list under seal.
Villagomez and the Santos couple pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds, conspiracy to defraud and to commit offenses against the U.S., wire fraud, and theft concerning a program receiving federal funds.
The 12-page indictment stated that Villagomez accepted a bribe amounting to $15,000 from the Santos couple for approving the purchase of Rydlyme, a cleaning and de-scaling chemical for the use of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
At the same time, the Santos couple was also charged with bribery for offering the $15,000 to Villagomez.
Mrs. Santos is the lt. governor’s sister.
