CUC acting procurement and supply manager Immanuel B. Sablan, who took the witness stand yesterday in the jury trial of Lt. Gov. Timothy Villagomez and his co-defendants, said he emailed five distributors in Australia, Japan and other places for quotations of Rydlyme but no quotations were sent to him.
Sablan, whose duty is to check whether CUC complies with procurement procedures, said Blue Pacific, owned by co-defendant Joaquina V. Santos, Villagomez’s sister, submitted an unsolicited quotation for 3,000 gallons of Rydlyme on Oct. 26, 2007 at a price of $40 per gallon.
But Sablan said he did not make any request to proceed with the order of Rydlyme.
He said when he received an e-mail stating that 3,000 gallons of Rydlyme was enroute to the CNMI as earlier requested, he “felt like he was framed as though he placed the order for Rydlyme,” which he said was not the case.
He said he saw the contract for the order of 3,000 gallons of Rydlyme but he did not sign it because he saw several discrepancies and the amount was “so big.”
During the direct examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, Sablan was shown a document where his name appeared in the signature box of the contract, but he said it was then-CUC Executive Director Anthony Guerrero who signed it.
Guerrero is also a co-defendant, but he has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the prosecution.
Sablan said the contract needed two signatures from him — one on the front and another on the signature page but he did not sign it.
During cross-examination by defense lawyer Victorino Torres, Sablan stated that Guerrero advised him that the transaction was a sole source contract by Blue Pacific.
Sablan said he was not aware of any request voucher for Rydlyme from Blue Pacific.
Yesterday marked the 12th day of the jury trial of Villagomez, Santos and her husband, former Commerce Secretary James A. Santos, on charges of conspiracy to defraud the federal government, wire fraud and theft concerning federal funds.
