By Troy Torres
Governor Lou Leon Guerrero is not, as of the draft of her speech Sunday morning, expected to address growing concerns of public and police corruption in her third state of the island address Monday night.
Kandit News will be covering the speech live. The governor is expected to name her priorities for the spending of an enormous $661 million gift from the federal government, secured by Congressman Michael San Nicolas. She also is expected to place the unprecedented pandemic response into perspective as she sets up a dialogue with the voters of Guam toward her reelection request next year.
But it is corruption, particularly police corruption, that has consumed the public conscience, especially with the Covid-19 crisis dwindling into memory.
The governor’s communications director, Krystal Paco-San Agustin, told Kandit this morning that, from her reading today of the latest draft, corruption issues are not addressed.
On Feb. 1, 2019, a police complaint was filed alleging corruption at the Guam Office of Attorney General (AGO). The complaint alleged illegal double dipping at the AGO, and complicity therewith. I am Joseph A. Guthrie, a 16-year veteran of the Office of Attorney General who was deputy attorney general between 2003 and 2006, and I am the person who submitted the police complaint. The police complaint alleged that attorney Philip J. Tydingco committed the misdemeanors of official misconduct, unsworn falsification, and false statement related to GovGuam retirement – and that attorneys John Patrick "Pat" Mason, Alicia Limtiaco, ALBERTO TOLENTINO, John Weisenberger, and Leonardo Rapadas were complicit in all or some of these crimes. The police complaint further alleged that…
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On Jan. 3, 2007, Mason signed a contract between himself and AG's office. The contract purported to be an independent contract, but Mason knew it to be a sham contract, insofar as the services of deputy attorney general contemplated to be provided under the contract by the signatories could – under applicable statute, temporary law, and personnel rule – only be legally provided by an unclassified employee, and not an independent contractor. The contract was also a sham contract because no Request for Proposal soliciting the interest of other potential independent contractors was issued before the contract was signed, contrary to the Guam Procurement Law. From Jan. 2, 2007 to Sept. 17, 2014, Mason performed the…