By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
LARISSA Sablan Flores and Eloida Dela Cruz Macaranas will seek a jury trial on the misconduct-in-public-office charges filed against them.
After a brief bench discussion with defense attorneys and Assistant Attorney General Olga Kelley on Thursday, Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo scheduled the jury trial for Aug. 24 at 9 a.m. He also gave prosecutors until March 24 to file any amended information.
The Office of the Attorney General last year charged four individuals tied to the Saipan Mayor’s Office — Henry Sablan Hofschneider, Flores, Teresita Borja Camacho, and Macaranas — with misappropriating nearly $98,400 from the mayor’s office account for personal use.
According to the information filed in court, Hofschneider, then special assistant to the lieutenant governor, and Flores, then administrative manager to the lieutenant governor, were accused of appropriating $98,379.65 from the mayor’s office account between May 19 and June 28, 2023, without the new mayor’s authorization. Both are senior aides to Gov. David M. Apatang and previously worked at the mayor’s office when Apatang served as mayor.
Camacho, the former budget officer, was charged with two counts of misconduct in public office. Prosecutors alleged she appropriated $38,279.53 for her own use between June 2 and June 28, 2023, and failed to notify the new mayor or the human resources manager.
Misconduct in public office carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Flores also faces one count of possession or removal of government property — punishable by up to six months in prison — for allegedly removing personnel files of former mayor’s office employees.
Macaranas, a payroll manager at the Department of Finance, was accused of processing unauthorized payments totaling $98,379.65. She faces up to two years in prison and a $1,500 fine.
Last month, the charges against Hofschneider were dismissed with prejudice after he agreed to repay $15,000 to the mayor’s office under a civil settlement approved by the court.
Attorney Colin Thompson, who represents Flores, told Variety that they will seek a jury trial but did not elaborate.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Macaranas’ attorney, Robert T. Torres, said they expect to file motions, including a motion for a bill of particulars that could require the government to detail its theory of the case.
“We’re going to trial, of course, just being clear that discussions always happen between the government and the defendants, which we are always welcome to consider,” he said.
“Our position is that Mrs. Macaranas and Mrs. Flores absolutely remain innocent and did nothing wrong. We expect the facts will bear that out and hold the government to its burden of proof. Procedurally, we’ve set matters to move this toward trial, and we’ll see where it goes in the coming months.”
Asked about the possibility of a settlement, Torres said the government has communicated with the parties, as shown in the Hofschneider settlement, but added: “Unlike Mr. Hofschneider, we have not reached a settlement. Whether we get there or whether we go to trial — at this point, we are proceeding to trial.”
Torres said the defense is looking forward to presenting the case before a jury.
Asked whether the prosecution could have resolved the matter without filing criminal charges, Torres said: “The Office of the Attorney General is the chief prosecutor of the Commonwealth. Their job is to prosecute criminal violations they believe occurred. Could they have pursued different remedies? That’s for that office to answer. But they are accountable to our community as part of the executive branch.
“In court, the government is held to its burden of proof in a criminal case. If this were a civil matter, we would be having discussions in that context. But this is a criminal case with serious allegations of misconduct in public office, which we categorically deny and challenge. The government has its role, and we respect that, but we intend to hold them to their burden.”
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.
