US Attorney not commenting on possible Mark Charfauros investigation
By Eric Rosario
It appears that John "Boom" Mantanona may have pled out in the federal corruption case filed against him and could possibly be cooperating with federal law enforcement agencies.
A close look at the federal court docket against Mantanona indicates a major shift in the case track in May of this year that previously had him asserting his innocence and demanding a jury trial for charges involving a major drug conspiracy and public corruption case first charged in early 2018.
Mr. Mantanona's trial was proceeding as scheduled as late as February this year. Then, in May, the trial dates were cancelled and then a series of sealed documents followed. A status call hearing was scheduled for a few months later and it has continually been cancelled every 3 months and moved to a later date with the justification for the cancellation filed under seal by the U.S. Attorney's Office. This is consistent with actions taken in other cases, where the defendant is cooperating under a plea agreement, and sentencing is postponed every three months while the defendant is helping the federal government to take down others.
Mr. Mantanona's case was brought upon by information Eric Aponik and other cooperating individuals provided to the federal government about Mr. Mantanona's alleged ties to the criminal underworld. Mantanona is a retired police officer, who went on to conduct detective work in private practice. His nephew is police officer Jimmy Manglona, who was removed from the DEA task force. His brother in law is deputy Marshal Alan Ecle, who is reportedly under federal investigation for police corruption.
Court observers tell Kandit News that the series of sealed documents in the Mantanona case could very well contain a sealed plea agreement and other documents related to his alleged cooperation against others higher up in the criminal conspiracy.
Three years's worth of federal court documents in the Aponik case, unsealed only weeks ago, tell the story of Mr. Aponik's cooperation with federal law enforcement that has led to the takedown of several unnamed drug dealers, and the sealed indictments of drug dealers and public officials involved with corruption that has protected drug trafficking.
A 2019 court document filed under seal by the U.S. Attorney foreshadowed the indictments of several targets.
"The defendant [Aponik] is actively cooperating with the Government on an ongoing drug trafficking and a public corruption investigation that involves multiple targets," federal prosecutor Rosetta San Nicolas wrote in a May 21, 2019 motion to the court to move Mr. Aponik's sentencing date and seal the motion. "The Government intends to indict these multiple targets in the following months. The defendant will testify before the Grand Jury in a few weeks regarding this investigation."
Early in Mr. Aponik's cooperation with the federal government was his alleged assertion of the criminal activities of four people believed to be linked toward the top of a conspiracy by drug suppliers and public officials to supply drug dealers on Guam with methamphetamine. While the federal government does not name the four people, the U.S. Attorney has identified them by initials in several court documents, including the Aponik plea agreement: A.W., F.F., J.S., and M.C.
The U.S. Attorney in May 2020 filed a criminal case under seal right after Mr. Mantanona's trial was cancelled.
Inquiry into Mark Charfauros cannot be confirmed or denied
Kandit News today sent the following inquiry to U.S. Attorney Shawn Anderson:
"We’d like to know whether the federal government is investigating Mark Charfauros and whether he has been arrested or indicted by the federal government."
Mr. Anderson responded:
"We can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation."
