By Troy Torres
(Tumon, Guam) Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC's coveted vendor list was leaked to Kandit News Group. The vendor listing is the subject of current discussions in the Commonwealth Legislature. A bill, passed by the House of Representatives and on its way to the Senate, would require disclosure of the names of IPI's vendors.
Casino critics have long held that the vendor list would prove the existence of major conflicts of interest with Gov. Ralph Torres and his brothers, the media, government officials, and casino regulators. The conflicts would indicate that these officials received kickbacks for their support of the casino, or their silence and blind eye to regulatory violations and illegal activity.
Kandit will present a full report on this list. For now, here is the list from the Commonwealth Casino Commission:
Chris Conception is "CA Professional Services" and is named in the subpoena.
One of the more interesting aspects of MVA is their "satellite offices" in China, Japan, and anywhere else a CNMI politician has a wife or girlfriend who needs financial support. Can someone dig up the budgets of these MVA satellite offices?
Also, the free Saipan trips MVA gives travel agencies: is there something going on? Surely must be some relatives benefiting somehow?
By the way, if anyone thinks MVA has brought any tourists to Saipan, they're delusional. MVA's recent campaigns to shut down the B and B industry really showed their hand.
I will be curious to know if Chris Concepcionis on the list? I think it came out once before that he had a "consulting business" and did some work for IPI? If true, I would like to know if that took place while he was working as Director for the MVA? And it seems strange that he left that position and then ended up (by Ralph's hand?) being put into the Planning and Development Office. Not sure but I heard he went to Hawaii (if true, what a joke) to get ideas from Waikiki for Garapan. If that doesn't sound like a junket, nothing does? Someone needs to investigate all of this. That MVA is nothing but a waste …
What a disaster CNMI...