By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
CITING a conflict of interest, Superior Court Associate Judge Lillian A. Tenorio recused herself from handling the case involving Lt. Gov. Dennis James C. Mendiola and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Lt. Justin Paul Mizutani, who are accused of misconduct in public office for allegedly misusing public funds to rent vehicles and illegally transport one to Rota.
At a hearing Monday, Judge Tenorio said the case will return to the presiding judge for reassignment and continued the arraignment to March 9.
Mendiola appeared without counsel, while Mizutani was represented by attorney Joey San Nicolas. Assistant Attorney General Olga Kelley appeared for the CNMI government.
Although Mendiola declined to comment after the hearing, he told reporters he remains represented by attorney Bruce Berline.
San Nicolas also declined to comment.
The Office of the Attorney General in February refiled 13 misconduct charges against Mendiola and Mizutani after the public-integrity case was dismissed in January over prosecutorial errors. The new filing does not include Homeland Security and Emergency Management employee Joey Vincent Dela Cruz, who was the third defendant in the dismissed case.
The refiled 13-count case alleges that Mendiola and Mizutani misused public resources and facilitated unauthorized vehicle rentals and transport between 2022 and 2023.
According to the charges, Mendiola authorized the transport of private and rental vehicles on government-chartered vessels without lawful authority. Several of the transported vehicles were rental units, and the Commonwealth incurred more than $60,000 in unpaid rental fees.
One vehicle was allegedly transported without the rental company’s consent, forming the basis of a theft-related charge.
Mendiola also allegedly approved or used multiple rental vehicles without budget authority, causing tens of thousands of dollars in losses to the government.
Mizutani is accused of assisting in arranging or facilitating certain vehicle rentals and authorizations tied to the movement or use of vehicles that prosecutors say lacked proper approval.
The Superior Court dismissed the original case without prejudice on Jan. 26 after Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found that prosecutors failed to comply with required criminal procedures.
The ruling stemmed from the government’s failure to submit a court-ordered bill of particulars and its improper filing of a First Amended Information. Kelley argued that the amended filing satisfied the court’s order and did not require a separate motion for leave to amend under Rule 7(e) of the Commonwealth Rules of Criminal Procedure. Judge Camacho disagreed, writing that the government “ignored the court’s order” and misunderstood the distinction between a bill of particulars and an amended information.
Original case
Mendiola, Mizutani and Dela Cruz were first charged in August 2025 with six counts of misconduct in public office and theft tied to the alleged misuse of public funds and unauthorized vehicle rentals. The charges stemmed from a Public Integrity Task Force investigation into conduct between April 2022 and April 2023.
On Dec. 17, Judge Camacho granted Mendiola’s request for a bill of particulars, finding that the original information lacked sufficient detail for the defense to prepare for trial. Instead of providing the ordered particulars, Kelley filed a First Amended Information on Dec. 31, expanding the case from six to 17 counts and adding extensive factual detail, including statutory citations, timelines, vehicle models and license plates, and an estimated $61,000 in unpaid vehicle rentals.
Defense attorneys argued that the government sidestepped the court’s directive. Berline said prosecutors had “muddied the waters” by filing a new charging document rather than supplying the required particulars. Attorneys Charity Hodson, representing Dela Cruz, and San Nicolas, representing Mizutani, joined the motion to dismiss.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
