Rota mayor enters plea of not guilty (another Republican charged with theft and wire fraud)
SAIPAN – The mayor of Rota appeared in federal court on Wednesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to a charge of wire fraud.
Efraim Atalig appeared out of custody before District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona Manglona and was represented by court-appointed counsel Bruce Berline.
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Guam trip in question
According to the indictment, Atalig, "acting in his official capacity, arranged a government-funded trip (from) Rota to Guam for himself and 12 other persons, including eight other Rota municipal employees, by means of false claims and under fraudulent pretenses."
The group visited Guam to attend a Republican Party rally, court documents state. The wire fraud charge stems from the use of an email to charter two government-funded flights between Rota and Guam.
In CNMI Superior Court, Atalig and seven of his resident directors were charged with theft and misconduct in public office.
The complete article is at https://www.postguam.com/news/cnmi/rota-mayor-enters-plea-of-not-guilty/article_922e2ee6-b1bb-11e8-8942-83f2343b1ab9.html .
Interesting that even in the Pacific Islands that Republicans are still unethical.