Plea agreement for ex CNMI govt official denied

3:22 pm on 1 March 2016

The six-month prison term proposed in the plea deal of former Northern Marianas Office of Aging director Rose Mondala has been rejected.

Superior Court Associate Judge David Wiseman said it was too lenient.

Mondala last week entered a guilty plea in connection with the charges that she used the office's funds and materials for the needs of the Covenant Party during the 2009 elections and to build a fence at her house.

Mr Wiseman said the facts alleged in the information state a very serious and continuous breach of the public trust at the public's expense.

He was also concerned at the difference in the possibility of 126 years of incarceration compared to the possibility of six months of house arrest under the plea deal.

Mondala originally faced 39 charges related to the alledged offences.