Guam Superior Court's correspondence with Abramoff revealed

The Abramoff Connection: Guam's paper trail

KUAM News recently sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the Guam Judiciary requesting information about the previous court administration's dealings with California-based attorney Howard Hills and the disgraced lobbyist.

The paper trail behind the former Superior Court administration's hiring of Hills and Abramoff sheds new light on the great lengths local officials went to fight congressional efforts to have an independent judiciary.

KUAM News initially reported that in October 2002 a power struggle within the local judiciary was noted, as Congress was reviewing a measure that would give the Guam Supreme Court control over the entire Judicial Branch. The struggle continued for several years, as taxpayers footed the growing bill. In April 1998 then-Superior Court administrative director Tony Sanchez entered into an agreement with Hills. Sanchez at the time explained why hills had been retained, saying, "He helps with regards to our federal court case, which is an issue right now before the U.S. Supreme Court and certainly will determine whether certain laws are in place and so forth and are related to the Judicial Council." As House Resolution 521, the Judicial Empowerment Act, moved through Congress, Hills' role became more important than ever.

In 2001 presiding judge Alberto Lamorena instructed Hills to hire former congressional staffer Manase Mansur as a subcontractor to assist the court. Mansur was paid $90,000 for his services, but that wasn't the only person Hills claims court officials asked him to hire. A year later the name of one of the nation's most powerful lobbyists at the time came up. But in 2002 Sanchez claimed he had no knowledge that the court had hired Jack Abramoff. When Sanchez was asked by KUAM News if he was ever give any indications that lobbyist would be hired, after he found out the Supreme Court was going to, he replied, "I think we discovered the lobbyist was clearly in place when we were there [in D.C.], but never discussed the matter."

But according to e-mail messages and letters obtained by KUAM through a Freedom of Information Act request, Sanchez did in fact know about the hiring of Abramoff long before our story aired.

According to Hills' attorney, Carol Elder Bruce, in a letter to the Judiciary the idea to hire Abramoff came from Sanchez - as early as May 8, 2002. Sanchez allegedly asked hills to set up a meeting between himself, Presiding Judge Lamorena and Abramoff at the former lobbyist's restaurant, Signatures. According to Hills, Sanchez wanted his assistance in temporarily "transferring the retainer to Abramoff" until the court could establish a new contract with Abramoff's law firm, Greenberg Traurig. In a later letter to the court attorney, Bruce stated that Hills was used by the court "not just to facilitate the transition of counsel, but to disguise its new relationship with a high-priced, now discredited, Washington, D.C. lobbyist."

She went on to write that the court imposed "uncompensated administrative burdens on Mr. Hills" in order to transmit fee payments to Abramoff as secretly as possible.

Days after their meeting with Abramoff, Sanchez wrote an e-mail to Hills requesting twenty-two individual invoices of no more than $9,000 for may payments - as opposed to three $75,000 invoices. Sanchez stressed it was very important, and that the invoices must be made daily with separate invoice numbers. In that same e-mail, Sanchez also requested Hills amend his agreement with the court to add an additional $400,000 immediately. (Hills later learned that the amount was Abramoff's fee to lobby for the court.)

On May 23, 2002 Abramoff wrote a letter to Hills confirming Greenberg Traurig's representation to oppose HR- 521 and clarifying that the fee was to be paid up front. A day later - before Abramoff had performed any work - Sanchez wrote an e-mail to Hills asking for the contract to be amended to $420,000. A change order was signed on the 29th of the month increasing that figure to $479,000. And the money couldn't have been paid fast enough, as Hills transmitted invoices and the court cut multiple checks of $9,000 each.

Abramoff was still anxious to get his money, while Hills became more and more disturbed about his involvement with the court. E-mail messages provided by Greenberg Traurig to Hills state that Abramoff wrote Sanchez in August 2002, demanding full payment. Abramoff stated in one such correspondence, "I am under real pressure here regarding the payments to the firm...we really need the rest of the funds ASAP...we have already gone beyond the $400,000 in total expenses."

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE:

The Marianas Variety has brought out more on the Guam-Abramoff connection, venturing beyond the Superior Court. The MarVar story looks set to come in 2 installments. Guambat will update as it becomes available. Here's the first:

Guam judge linked to Abramoff By Gina Tabonares (first of a series)

NOW it can be told. The decision to pay disgraced Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff significant sums of public funds to fight a turf battle between the Guam Superior Court and the Guam Supreme Court in Congress was made by Presiding Judge Alberto Lamorena.
Lamorena’s link to the controversial lobbyist and how he orchestrated efforts to control the reigns of Guam judicial administrative power were shown in a paper trail uncovered by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Government Reform which launched an investigation into the lobbying work of Abramoff.
Abramoff entered a plea of guilty in one case, was sentenced to jail time, and is awaiting sentencing in another case. He is cooperating fully with prosecutors in Washington, D.C. by providing lists of his clients through his firm, Greenberg & Traurig.
Greenberg & Traurig was subpoenaed by the House committee on Aug. 7, 2006. The committee demanded that the firm produce two categories of documents: all billing records from Jan. 1, 1998 to the present related to matters involving Abramoff, and all records related to contacts between the disgraced lobbyist or any person working with him and the White House.
The documents included a detailed description of professional services rendered by Greenberg & Traurig to Guam officials and the exchanges of e-mails between former Superior Court administrative director Tony Sanchez, California-based attorney Howard Hills, and Abramoff.
Sanchez, who is now facing criminal charges involving the lobbying scheme that resulted in the disbursement of $479,000 from the Guam court, was Abramoff’s constant contact who would communicate with Hills and the lobbyist using the code “Nobody Guam” with a yahoo e-mail address nobodyonguam@yahoo.com.
Using this e-mail address, Sanchez allegedly hatched a plan with Abramoff who, according to Hills, was under the direction of Judge Lamorena.
Camacho-Moylan endorsement
The exchange of e-mails indicated how Judge Lamorena asked the assistance of Abramoff on “three matters”—confirming that Abramoff was not only tapped to lobby for the court but also for other political issues such as the campaign of Gov. Felix P. Camacho and former Lt. Gov. Kaleo Moylan.
On Oct. 6, 2002, in an exchange of e-mails between Abramoff and Sanchez, local court officials confirmed the transmittal of $440,000 and Abramoof’s solicitation of assistance for the Camacho-Moylan campaign. The team was then running in the 2002 gubernatorial election against Robert Underwood and Tom Ada.
Citing a poll conducted by the University of Guam where Camacho’s team was only up by 5 percent over Underwood, court officials asked Abramoff to get the endorsement of President Bush and other congressmen.
Sanchez was quoted as saying they needed Abramoff to counter Underwood, who went out for his own endorsement.
Abramoff, in his reply, assured Sanchez that Bush was willing to endorse and indicated that he had already sent an e-mail to Moylan about the plan.
“I have e-mailed Kaleo but he does not respond to me. Have him check his e-mail and get back to me. I’ll get whatever they need from the Congress,” Abramoff told Sanchez in his e-mail.
‘Other matters’
Sanchez also allegedly asked Abramoff if Camacho could make a request for federal appropriations of $21 million for Guam’s sewer system which they suggested should be supported by former Texas Rep. Tom Delay.
Abramoff replied in all capital letters saying “the appropriations process for this year is over. We could do it for next year. Delay would not be public with his support, as he never supports appropriations requests outside his district publicly. We could definitely do this for next year, but it should be done in the context of an overall approach, as we do with our other clients. One attempts like this usually fails. They have to be part of an overall strategy.”
Court officials also asked the power broker if Camacho wrote Defense Secretary Rumsfeld or President Bush to order the military to ship goods to Guam in case of a West Coast strike.
The idea was apparently brought up to counter Underwood’s conversation with Pacific Fleet and union leaders.
Abramoff answered: “Possible. Get me a sample letter which Felix would write and what you guys want as a response from Bush. I’ll get them to them and see if we can get this for you guys.”
Guam spent monies
The paper trail showed how Judge Lamorena allowed the disbursement of court funds that were also spent for other lobbying programs that appeared to have nothing to do with the Guam judicial system.
While the engagement letter made by Abramoff on May 23, 2002 accepted the court as one of his clients specifically to assist the presiding judge in a House bill that would amend the Organic Act of Guam to clarify the local judicial structure of Guam, the billing records of Greenberg and Traurig reveal charges for work done on a number of other matters, including Guam’s Application for Expanded Air Service.
Between January and March 2002, there were at least a dozen entries specifically referencing “Open Skies.”
In July 2002, seven entries for Duane Gibson mentioning “performance roads” that appeared to be related to work done by Greenberg & Traurig on behalf of Koch Industries were also included in the Guam billing records.
Between October and December 2002, there were a number of entries specifically referring to federal grants. A couple of entries in November 2002 referred to the Craig Amendment which is not related to the Guam judicial bill.
In late February 2002, there were entries for fees and expenses related to meetings with former Guam Senator Mark Charfauros.
A number of the charges for expenses appeared to be unrelated to any charges of fees for the local court. There were five separate limousine service charges for Abramoff in November 2001.
There were more than two dozen entries for expenses incurred at Signatures, Abramoff’s defunct restaurant in Washington, D.C., and more than $13,000 in fees and expenses incurred by Neil Volz, who earlier pleaded guilty to honest services fraud.
Discrepancies were pointed out by Hills’ lawyer, Carol Elder Bruce, who also told Guam Judiciary Staff Attorney Bruce Bradley in a letter that her client forwarded a total of $324,000 to Greenberg & Traurig on behalf of the court, but Abramoff’s firm only produced billing records accounting for less than half of the amount—$144,620.49.
In a confidential letter to Bradley dated Sept. 1, 2006, Bruce noted discrepancies in the timeframe of the Greenberg & Traurig billing records to the court as it included fees and expenses going back to Nov. 13, 2001, which was six months prior to the lobbying engagement.
Furthermore, the fees and expenses for work done prior to the engagement totaling $16,067.24 were not invoiced until Greenberg & Traurig’s fourth bill dated Oct. 28, 2002.
Lamorena and Hills
Documents also showed how Lamorena initiated the Guam court lobby by retaining Hills as early as April 7, 1998.
According to Bruce, Hills was retained by the presiding judge to provide legal and policy advice to the Guam Superior Court regarding federal, state, and territorial models of judicial organization.
Hills also monitored congressional policies and activities in the U.S. Department of the Interior relating to the growing debate over Guam’s court organization.
At the request of Judge Lamorena, Bruce stated in a July 19, 2006 letter to the Guam Judiciary, Hills developed a comprehensive legal and policy analysis of how the court organization issue is related to the larger issues of Guam’s self government, including future adoption of a local Guam constitution and the resolution of Guam’s ultimate political status.
She disclosed that the analysis developed by Hills was presented to the presiding judge in meetings in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. over a three-year period.
According to Bruce, Judge Lamorena instructed Hills in 2001 to retain an expert on territorial policy, a former congressional staffer, Manase Mansur, as a subcontractor to assist the court.
It was the same year when Hills met Sanchez, who began supervising Hills’ work.
Hills’ lawyer also stated that contrary to the Office of the Public Auditor’s report, Hills was only paid $76,000 for his services over the four-year period beginning in April 1998 and endingon May 8, 2002. Hills’ subcontractor, however, received $90,000 for services.
Bruce said Mansur and Hills never performed any lobbying services, and the subcontractor simply monitored deliberations in the local legislature and Congress.
The court
Hills’ lawyer reiterated that the court hired Abramoff, adding that when she uses the word “court” it refers to Judge Lamorena who acted through Sanchez.
Bradley said her clients were used as part of the court’s broader scheme to conceal from the public the court’s retention of Abramoff.
She said Hills proposed other less costly and less politically charged strategies to sustain the legislation in Congress, but this was rejected by the court which instead contacted and sought the services of Abramoff.
“To now suggest that his accommodation of the court’s request for his assistance in referring the matter to Abramoff makes him (Hills) the scapegoat for the controversy that ensued is not something Mr. Hills can passively tolerate,” Bruce said.
Hills’ legal services as retained by Lamorena are now being questioned by the present administration of the Guam Judiciary which is asking the lawyer to return the fee for services that has no proof.
Bradley said there was no evidence to show what legal work Hills did to justify the original retainer of $20,000 paid by the court in June 1998.
(To be continued)

Wining and dining at Guam’s expense By Gina Tabonares (2nd of a series)

FOR more than two years, Guam taxpayers forked out an average of $200 per hour to more than a dozen Washington, D.C. workers who would make phone calls, read stories about the island, and wine and dine in the capital’s restaurants.
These “tasks” cost Guam almost half a million dollars in public funds funneled by the Guam Superior Court to Greenberg Traurig, the lobbying firm of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Capitol power broker.
Greenberg Traurig was retained by Guam Superior Court Presiding Judge Alberto Lamorena and former Guam Superior Court administrative director Tony Sanchez to win a turf fight over who would control the reigns of Guam’s judicial administrative power.
Detailed billing records have been turned over to the House Committee on Government Reform, including descriptions of professional services rendered to the Guam court.
From Nov. 13, 2001 to March 13, 2003, Guam paid the likes of Abramoff, Michael Williams, Neil G. Volz, Kevin Ring, Todd A. Boulanger, Lindsey Crisler, Brigham Pierce, Douglas Heron, Stephanie Short, Michael D. Smith, Duane R. Gibson, Jane Gumbrewicz, Jon W. Van Horne, Shana Tesler and a paralegal clerk to dine with congressmen and staff on the pretext that they were strategizing about the Guam judiciary.
Williams, a senior director of Greenberg Traurig, charged Guam $750 for spending two hours in Congress to talk about the Guam Judicial Empowerment Act.
His phone call to Congress cost Guam $600 and when he handed a letter to a Congress staffer, he charged the island $660, not to mention the Verizon cellular phone call bills that were added to the Guam account.
On July 29, 2002, he discussed with House and Senate members a bill filed by former Congressman Robert Underwood, and his price tag for three hours and 40 minutes was $1,020.
He would prepare for the same kind of meeting with members of the House of Representatives for more than two and a half hours and would charge Guam $720.
The same person reviewed a letter for almost three hours and charged Guam $840.
Another staffer like Gibson would somehow find a way to revise the letter for an hour and then charge a separate $360, all coming from Guam’s coffers.
Williams bought refreshments for Capitol Hill employees or stayed at the Westside Hotel, dining with Republican staffers, and paying his dues at a golf club with Guam money.
Crisler, a Williams staffer, cost Guam at least $135 for every hour that she spent reading clips and publications about the island. On several occasions, she would visit the House for her boss and the price tag would be $140.13 per hour.
Meal tickets
But among the list of charges, the “business” meals were always at the top of the list.
The expenses included a quick bite at Taco Bell or expensive dinners at Abramoff’s Signatures restaurant.
Records of expenses billed to Guam showed that Williams loved to play golf and drink, while Todd Boulanger loved dining.
Boulanger, a Republican activist, frequented Signatures for lunch and dinner. Sometimes, he would bring Senate staffers who he normally met at Abramoff’s restaurant via a taxi ride also paid for by Guam taxpayers.
Everywhere Boulanger ate, he would charge it to Guam and whatever he decided to do, he would charge for his hours. When he monitored House floor developments regarding the Guam judiciary, he charged $240 per hour and when he lifted a phone to call a House staffer, he charged another $168.
Fare tickets
While Greenberg Traurig staff used Guam money for taxi fare around Washington, D.C., Abramoff, the boss, would hire limousine service at Guam’s expense.
Former Senator Mark Charfauros, who was the only local official who admitted his link with the disgraced lobbyist, traveled at a cost of $4,300, which Abramoff charged to his Guam clients. The invoice date was May 9, 2002, but the actual trip transpired on Feb. 28, 2002.
Concert and parking tickets
Guam taxpayers also paid for Bruce Springsteen concert tickets on Aug. 6, 2002, which were bought by Ring for a Senate staffer for $85 and an Encore ticket paid by island taxpayers for Volz on Dec. 5, 2002.
Boulanger went for a Grim Deeper fishing trip on Aug. 19, 2002, billed Guam for the gas he used, plus a 7-Eleven purchase and a parking ticket.
Triple whammy
Guam taxpayers were also hit three times over for every occasion that the lobbyists met in their favorite dining spot, the defunct restaurant of Abramoff.
The lobbyists earned their hourly rate using Guam for their meetings, would bill the local court for their meals, and would contribute to the earnings of Abramoff’s restaurant.
Even before Abramoff sent an engagement letter on May 23, 2002, Boulanger had started charging Guam for his dinner at the restaurant on May 9, 2002.
As reflected in his expense billings, Boulanger dined at Signatures more than a dozen times while Williams hosted a dozen luncheon and dinner meetings in the same restaurant.
In fact, Boulanger had a dinner at Signatures on Oct. 9, 2002 and charged it to Guam although the meeting was with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Abramoff treated Guam the same way he treated his other clients including the Native American groups.
Federal documents indicated that the restaurant was a favorite of Republican power brokers such as Reps. Bob Ney of Ohio, Dana Rohrabacher of California, and former House Majority Leader Tom Delay of Texas whose meals were often complimentary.
Lawyers, lobbyists and several lawmakers thought that their food and liquor were free but those free tabs were reflected in the billing records of Abramoff’s defrauded clients.
The famous Washington, D.C. restaurant was also the venue for the first meeting of Abramoff, Lamorena, and Sanchez. According to California-based attorney Howard Hills, he was present but only stayed for brief pleasantries.
Abramoff’s restaurant closed on Nov. 16, 2005, after media and congressional scrutiny of Abramoff and his dealings became intense.
In the description of services, the word “research” was the most overused term. The timekeepers at Greenberg Traurig stated that they did some research on Guam.
Such was the work description of Hills, who was retained by Judge Lamorena to spend a great deal of time researching complex questions on international and territorial law.
When Hills hired a subcontractor, Manase Masur, who was recommended by the presiding judge, his job was to do research for the court.
Wasted monies
Despite the research and studies done, plus the amount of money paid, the lobbying effort did not succeed.
According to Hills’ attorney Carol Elder Bruce, in her letter to Guam Judiciary Staff Attorney Bruce A. Bradley, Abramoff actually won the turf fight for the Superior Court for a period of time until public revelations about the lobbyist’s involvement in the lobbying forced a reversal.
The present administration of the Guam Judiciary is trying to recover some money from Hills who, according to Bradley, did not provide any supporting documents to show the work he did for the court.
The Guam judiciary is asking Hills to return the $20,000 retainer paid by the Superior Court of Guam on June 18, 1998, but Bruce said that there are no funds to be refunded because the amount covered Hills’ legal services for the period of April 7, 1998 through January 2001.
Bruce also refused to provide copies of Hills’ documents regarding his contract and payments, explaining that her client is a solo practitioner and does not bill his clients separately, and that he does not provide detailed billing statements all the time.

The Abramoff plea agreement can be found here or here.

An instructive article on the "honest services fraud" law and its application to Abramoff's case is here.