Guam attorney general loses corruption cases against two public officials
By Bryan Manabat
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals filed by Guam Attorney General Douglas Moylan, who sought review of two public corruption cases that local courts have tossed out due to conflicts of interest.
The Supreme Court's denial of appeals has left in place the existing rulings disqualifying the entire Office of the Attorney General from prosecuting Arthur San Agustin, former director of the Department of Public Health and Social Services, and Alejo Sablan, chairman of the Guam Regional Transit Authority board.
Guam courts have noted that Moylan prosecuted the two public officials for actions they took on the advice of his own office.
The national high court's denial of petitions for certiorari effectively ends a three-year legal battle that began shortly after Moylan took office in 2023 and pledged to aggressively prosecute government corruption.
Moylan lost his bid for another term at the Nov. 3 general election.
"The law is settled and everyone knows it, except Doug Moylan," said Joaquin "Jay" Arriola, whose law offices represented San Agustin and Sablan.
"It is now up to the regulation counsel and the court's disciplinary system to act to protect the public from further abuse by rogue and politically ambitious lawyers in power," he added.
The case against San Agustin arose from allegations that he approved sanitary permits for Guam public schools without conducting the required health and safety inspections.
In 2023, a grand jury indicted San Agustin and former environmental health chief Masatomo Nadeau on charges of tampering with public records, official misconduct and obstruction of governmental functions. Prosecutors alleged the actions created risks to public health and safety.
However, in October 2024, Superior Court Judge John Terlaje disqualified the Office of the Attorney General from prosecuting the case, finding that attorneys within the office had previously advised the public health department on matters directly related to the sanitary permit program that later became the subject of the criminal investigation.
The court concluded that the office's conflict wall was ineffective and ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor.
When no special prosecutor was appointed, the Superior Court dismissed the case with prejudice in October 2024.
The Guam Supreme Court later dismissed the government's appeal and ruled that the attorney general's office could not continue representing the people of Guam in the matter while the disqualification order remained in effect.
Moylan subsequently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that Guam courts had improperly disqualified his office and deprived the people of Guam of appellate review.
The petition argued that the rulings raised constitutional questions concerning due process, separation of powers and the courts' authority to remove an elected attorney general from a prosecution without providing substitute counsel.
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Sablan's case stemmed from the hiring of Richard Ybanez, former Guam Regional Transit Authority interim executive manager.
Prosecutors charged Sablan in 2023 with theft by deception, conspiracy, tampering with public records and official misconduct, alleging irregularities related to Ybanez's employment.
Defense attorneys successfully argued that the attorney general's office had a conflict of interest because it previously advised the GRTA board, including Sablan, on matters related to the case.
The Superior Court also disqualified the attorney general's office from that prosecution and later dismissed the case.
The Guam Supreme Court rejected the government's appeal, prompting Moylan to seek review from the nation's highest court. Tuesday's denial leaves those rulings intact.
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"Since the beginning of his term, these have been the only cases of 'government corruption' pursued by the 'toughest AG on crime.' Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer funds were spent to support these frivolous and abusive 'fake prosecutions' for the sake of headlines and political ambition," Arriola said.
He also maintained that neither San Agustin nor Sablan should have been criminally charged.
"Art San Agustin and Alejo Sablan are respected leaders and career public servants, who were easy targets for a misguided and malicious prosecution by this OAG. They are not only 'not guilty' of any crimes, but they are also innocent and should never have been charged," Arriola said.
Arriola further called on Guam's attorney disciplinary system to review the prosecution.
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