It was Tenorio who hired Abramoff 16 years ago.
From 1994 to 2001, Abramoff’s lobby firms were paid a total of $11 million by the commonwealth to prevent the U.S. Congress from federalizing local immigration.
“For me, he did the job that I hired him to do,” Tenorio said. “He blocked that legislation. He did the job because he had friends in the U.S. Congress.”
He noted that there are more lobbyists now under the Obama administration.
In 2006, a year after Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption charges, the CNMI government, through then-Attorney General Matthew Gregory, sent the lobbyist’s former firms demand letters claiming that the commonwealth was his “victim” as well.
“I don’t agree that the money [paid to these firms] should be returned,” Tenorio said.
But unlike Gov. Benigno R. Fitial who referred to Abramoff as his “close friend,” Tenorio said his dealings with the lobbyist were purely business, adding that he didn’t socialize with him.
At that time, Fitial was the executive of the Tan garment factories, the largest on the island and staunch supporters of Abramoff’s lobbying services.
