This cartoon relates to the fact that the Commonwealth Health Center has been placed on "immediate jeopardy" not once, but in three separate notices. Each one seems focused on more serious and problematic issues than the one before. At one point after they came out, the newspapers reported how some of the Board members were over at CHC trying to find the CEO, who was not there. I "borrowed" the lobster content from other Administration figures (press secretary Angel Demapan, insider trading ex-official Mike Ada, the Governor). The politics makes ordinary people lose their appetite.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
This editorial cartoon was inspired by comments in the Variety after the first "immediate jeopardy" notice was issued to CHC by CMS (the federal medicaid/medicare inspectors). Juan Nekai Babauta, CEO of Commonwealth Health Center had plans to attend some conference off-island. There was no subsequent report that he actually left island, but he has travelled so often during his public life, including as CEO of CHC while it was deteriorating to its present near-collapse, that his travel-love and callous disregard of CHC make this pictorial comment valid.
Saipan is an interesting place to live. It is also a blogger's paradise! Lots to chat about in today's news.
CHC
You can read a good blog post at Ken's SOS site on Fitial's plan to take over DPH by declaration of a state of emergency. And Doctor Cornett's very small hammer rant(they're still not getting it) at the Tribune.
Patrick Calvo
Found guilty on charges of sex abuse of a minor. His defense was that his 14 year old daughter was lying. This might work in some cases, but she's been a model student and otherwise fine person, and his other daughters came forward and testified against him also. For those victims from the earlier 2000 case who did not see justice when the case against Calvo was dismissed, this must be a small victory, too.
Writing
This is, after all, SaipanWriter! Walt Goodridge held a writer's workshop on Sunday, September 27, 2009.
Joe (Mango) Race brought up National Novel Writing Month! Yay! Interested in spending a month noveling? It's happening here in Saipan, as around the world, thanks to NaNoWriMo. Sign up. We write in November. (I'm the municipal liaison. If you need more information, contact me.)
And my own little off-topic "flashback" contribution:
I just found this bit about George W. Bush's favorite painting. This is such a laugh! As Art Blogger Bob says--narcissistic and stupid.
Today's Variety has a small article about medical referral at CHC. I read it, and saw the photo of the "manager for medical referral services" that accompanied it. Ronald D. Sablan.
Ronald D. Sablan? Have we forgotten?
Photo from Marianas Variety
This is the same man who borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from EDLF/CDA for the Pacific Gardenia and never paid it back. Never even tried to pay it back. By the time CDA got a judgment, the total, with interest and late charges, was $2.4 million owed by Ron D. Sablan!
At the time that CDA sued in 2004, they alleged a scheme of deception and mismanagement, all for the purpose of enriching Ron D. Sablan.
As of last Jan. 20, Sy's Corporation and its officers Ronald, Maria Ana, and Jeannette Sablan owe CDA over $2.4 million, and are more than five years delinquent in their payment, according to CDA's legal counsel.
“CDA's rights and interests.will be irreparably injured unless a receiver [or trustee] is appointed to take charge of the business affairs of Sy's [Corporation] and to take possession of its property until a final decision or order from this court is issued following foreclosure, selling the assets or otherwise disposing of this action,” attorney F. Matthew Smith said.
Court records showed that Jeannette Sablan-the sister of hotel general manager Ronald Sablan-has already agreed to the proposed appointment of a trustee on June 17.
In the motion he filed last week, Smith claimed that spouses Ronald and Maria Ann Sablan have been mismanaging the assets of Pacific Gardenia Hotel and Sunset Bar and Grill.
CDA, Smith said, has been informed that the Sablans are maintaining separate sets of accounting books and had presented fictitious books to CDA in the past. Sy's Corporation is reportedly operating without a CNMI business license due to unpaid taxes, and owes employees over $100,000 in back wages. Further, all checks payable to Sy's Corporation are being diverted and deposited directly into the personal accounts of the Sablan couple, Smith said.
Even his sister claimed
he fraudulently mismanaged the corporation that ran the Pacific Gardenia. Her attorney, Bob O'Connor, also spoke on the matter.
“The obvious purpose in filing the petition [for bankruptcy] was to avoid the receivership and to allow Ronald Sablan to continue to siphon into his own pocket all of Sy's Corp's hotel and restaurant revenues,” O'Connor said.
And when Ron D. Sablan filed for bankruptcy, he conveniently omitted another mortgage debt. Attorney Bruce Mailman represented that creditor.
LPP lawyer Bruce Mailman accused Sablan and his wife of fraud, in connection with their filing of a bankruptcy petition in court in Nevada. In that petition, Mailman said the Sablans made no mention of its debt from LPP regarding defaulted loans originally obtained from the company's predecessor-in-interest, the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Ron D. Sablan not only cheated EDLF/CDA and his creditors, he also faced numerous complaints for cheating his foreign contract workers,
failing to pay them.
According to
attorney F. Matt Smith, Ron D. Sablan was to blame for this problem, as well:
Smith further maintained that the payment of back wages allegedly owed the former hotel employees was not the problem of the hotel's new receiver, but of Sablan.
“It is not the receiver’s responsibility to pay old back wages that cannot be verified and that were not accrued under his watch,” Smith said. “The fact is that since the receiver took over, Pacific Gardenia employees are finally getting regular pay checks."
He noted that Sablan negotiated the back wages with the Department of Labor and the involved workers without court approval and without guaranty that the amounts negotiated were accurate or in order.
“This is a Ron Sablan problem and not a receiver problem,” said Smith.
Ron D. Sablan
resigned his position as chairman of HANMI (the hotel association). He filed for bankruptcy. And he appealed the judgment against him!
It took years to finally resolve the appeal; and finally Ron D. Sablan decided he could dismiss the appeal and let CDA have the properties it had foreclosed to try to recoup some of the money owed. But of course, by then, it became impossible for CDA to find any investor who wanted the Pacific Gardenia building and could pay a reasonable price for it.
The Pacific Gardenia building sits as an empty eyesore (one of many) on Beach Road in Chalan Kanoa.
And Ron D. Sablan, who has NOTHING to recommend him as a manager (and NO EXPERIENCE in the medical field, either, that I can find a trace of)--Ron D. Sablan, who in fact has A LOT to recommend against him ever holding any position of responsibility again--is now managing the CHC office for medical referral services?
I'm outraged.
I'm also wondering if he weren't a Sablan, would he have gotten this job?
I'm also wondering what date he was hired. And if there is any coincidental relationship between his being hired and Kilili's decision that we need to delay implementation of U.S. immigration here.
And even if there is no connection, nothing worse than just an out-and-out hire of him, it still makes me angry.
You basically said it all and ask the same questions that I was thinking while reading the articles.
It is a great possibility that many, if not all of the individuals that were involved in these different fund shortages are presently working in this administration or one of the agencies as a political hire.
That is a good article and leaves a lot open for a later time.
We could use some more aggressive reporting by our local newspapers. This information isn't secret. Well, I don't think it is--but even then an Open Government Act request might be a means of getting the information.
I also realize that sometimes OPA finds problems that are more paperwork than performance issues. This is especially true on the travel documentation, which goes missing a lot of the times, and not always by the traveler (sometimes after the appropriate paperwork has been turned in!). So the travel could have been done actually at the stated price and for the stated purpose and with a real benefit to the CNMI, and OPA will still show a problem as existing.
But that needs to be clarified. And reported on. And for the REAL problems, go after the money and prosecute the crimes.
jmho.
Geez, you've got "Gangsta's Paradise" running through my noggin (No, I'm not maligning anyone, I just thought of the song). Actually, now it's the Weird Al parody.
I blog because I yam, but really don't expect to change the world... pretty much the conclusion I came to when I was a reporter.
And we all love to shout "I'm mad as hell..."
I got this great comment via e-mail. It's too good not to add it here. I hope someone sees it and pays attention!
"I am writing this in response to your recent blog post about OPA referrals of cases involving suspected government fraud, waste, or corruption to the AGO, and the dismal results of such referrals to the AGO.
Where such matters are viewed as priorities, responsible and prudent attorneys general usually recruit and hire dedicated lawyers having specialized skill, knowledge, training, and experience to handle cases involving suspected government fraud, waste, or corruption exclusively.
When Pam Brown was the AG, she specifically designated deputy AG Clyde Lemons, Jr., who had previously served as the chief prosecutor, to handle "public corruption" cases. (See http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=33290). Subsequently, he did handle a number of such cases against current and former public officers and employees. Although the resources available to deputy AG Lemons were extremely limited, many old / stale OPA referrals were closed around that time, on the basis that criminal prosecutions and/or civil actions against the alleged responsible parties were barred by the applicable statutes of limitations and/or the doctrine of laches; some cases were rejected because key witnesses were no longer available; and a number of other cases were declined or deferred due to perceived deficiencies in OPA's investigations and the quantity or quality of the evidence gathered, which practically eliminated or greatly diminished the chances of success.
When Mona Manglona was the AG, it was proposed that one or more of the OPA staff attorneys be designated as "special" assistant attorneys general, for the purpose of handling cases involving suspected government fraud, waste, or corruption. However, that proposal was rejected by the former public auditor, who apparently did not wish to undertake the burdens and responsibilities associated with prosecuting "public corruption" cases that had been investigated and referred by his office to the AGO.
When Rob Torres was the AG, he recruited a lawyer who had specialized in handling "public corruption" cases in his home state. However, that lawyer left Saipan soon after his arrival in 2002, and unfortunately, Rob Torres' resignation from the AGO occurred shortly thereafter.
My recommendations are:
1. That the current AG recruit and hire a dedicated legal specialist to handle "public corruption" cases exclusively.
2. That the current AG pursue a memorandum of understanding with the public auditor, to designate OPA's staff attorney as a "special" assistant attorney general for the purpose of handling cases involving suspected government fraud, waste, or corruption.
3. That sufficient resources be committed by the AGO / OPA / AGIU to enable the aforementioned designees to effectively investigate and prosecute criminal and civil cases involving suspected government fraud, waste, or corruption.
4. That the statutory remedies, civil money penalties, and criminal penalties against public officers and employees who engage in fraud, waste, or corruption be significantly increased by the CNMI legislature, that the elements of liability be redefined where necessary, and that the statutes of limitations be amended to extend the limitation periods provided in such cases.
5. That the proposed initiative to change from gubernatorial appointment of the AG, with consent of the senate, to an elected AG, be presented to an informed CNMI electorate to decide whether an elected AG would be preferable.
A great commonwealth holds public officers and employees accountable for the consequences of their fraud, waste, and corruption. Imagine a great commonwealth."