Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez (born September 10, 1962,

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

) is a Northern Marianan politician who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 9, 2006 until his resignation on April 24, 2009, under Governor

Benigno R. Fitial Benigno Repeki Fitial (born November 27, 1945) is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Fitial was elected on November 6, 2005, assum ...

. Villagomez took office as Lieutenant Governor on January 9, 2006, after being elected as a ticket during the 2005 gubernatorial election. Villagomez, like Fitial, was a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

but became a member of the Covenant Party.

Background

Villagomez is a relative of former Northern Mariana Islands Governor Pedro Tenorio and his wife, First Lady Sophia.

Scandal

In August 2008, Villagomez was indicted on felony charges relating to the misuse of government funds. On April 24, 2009, he was found guilty along with former Commerce Secretary James A. Santos and his wife Joaquina V. Santos (Villagomez's sister) relating to a scheme to defraud the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. through needless purchases of a de-scaling chemical called Rydlyme. Awaiting sentencing on July 28, 2009, Villagomez tendered his resignation on April 24.

Sentencing

Villagomez's sentencing was delayed until August 5, 2009, at which time he was sentenced to 87 months in

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

. He was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution at Phoenix, Arizona. His brother-in-law, Santos, and his wife were sentenced to 78 months. The case was appealed to the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. Villagomez was later transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary at Tucson, Arizona with a release date of June 23, 2017. In December 2012, the Ninth Circuit vacated Villagomez's sentence citing a mistake in calculation. On June 12, 2013, Villagomez was resentenced to 108 months, an increase of 21 months from the original. Villagomez began his term of supervised release on June 24, 2017, in the District of Idaho. At Villagomez’s request, his supervision was transferred to the U.S. Probation Office for the NMI, and is set to expire on June 23, 2020.

References

External links

Lt. Governor Timothy P. Villagomez official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villagomez, Timothy 1962 births Covenant Party (Northern Mariana Islands) politicians Lieutenant Governors of the Northern Mariana Islands Living people Northern Mariana Islands prisoners and detainees People from Saipan Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud Politicians convicted of program bribery Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Republican Party (Northern Mariana Islands) politicians