BREAKING NEWS! WITCH HUNT - (Again)
Late last night, one of our Adelup “friends” informed Guamblog of movement afoot regarding the decision of Gov. Eddie Calvo to send his righthand man, attorney Arthur Clarke to intercede in the egregious tax scam case involving Dennis Rodriguez Sr. and his wife, who refused to pay taxes for five years, starting in 1996.
Dennis Rodriuez, and his wife Asuncion, were on the hook for $2.7 million in unpaid taxes for the 5-year period, plus an additional $950,903 in interests and penalties. But that was before Calvo sent his cousin Champ Calvo’s former law partner, Clark, to block the Attorney General Office negotiations and settle the whole deal for approximately $100,000.
Marianas Variety ace reporter Mar-Vic Cangurangan had that scoop before Guamblog and other media about the secret deal to cut Rodriguez’s tax debt. She wrote about it on Oct 5, 2012. At the time, the reporter’s confidential contact told Variety, “I don’t know what’s going on in Adelup,” the source said. “Under the Organic Act, the Attorney General is the chief legal officer of Guam. They just decided they wanted to take over the case which started as a criminal case.”
Arthur Clark, co-founding partner of Calvo & Clark in 1992, with Champ Calvo (the governor’s cousin) is on a witchhunt to find the leak that snitched on their plans to line the pockets of Calvo family members (in-laws) with millions of dollars of public tax money…meanwhile, 7,000 UOG students have to contend with a tuition spike because of a shortfall in an amount less than what tax deadbeats Dennis Rodriguez Sr. and his wife, rightfully owe to GovGuam. Our source in Adelup confirms that the mission to find the leak is at the behest of the governor.
Now word comes of an official ethics complaint filed in the matter. And NOT for what you think…
Rather than probing WHY Dennis Rodriguez and his wife were even given a tax discount that amounts to nearly $3.5 million (even without penalties, the couple rightfully owe almost $3 million in taxes to GovGuam), our Adelup source said that attorney Clark has sought to file the ethic complaint, at the behest of the governor’s office, to find out who leaked the information of their secret deal with Rodriguez to Marianas Variety.
Guamblog’s own source in the governor’ complex said Calvo and his advisors were “pissed of that the leak was thereby disrupting their plot” to funnel even more taxpayer millions out of the government and into the bank accounts of family, in-laws and friends of the administration.
Guamblog sources confirmed that the governor’s wish is to ee the amount of tax collected from the Rodriguezes reduced to less than 10¢ on the dollar - allowing them to keep millions of dollars in their pockets. He added, “they’re on a witchhunt; it’s on to find the one who gave that info to the press earlier this month,” claimed the confidential source.
The “repugnant,” “legally inadvisable” and “antithetical” arrangement made by Calvo, who is related to the Rodriguez family through marriage, has left many on Guam wondering why 2 people are given a tax-free holiday to the tune of millions of dollars, even as 7,000 Guam families will have to find a way to scrape together the money for a tuition hike at the University of Guam. UOG threatens a tuition hike because of a budget shortfall estimated to be less than what the Rodriguezes owe to the General Fund.
Bruce Bradley is the Guam Bar Association Ethics Prosecutor and, as such is charged with investigating Bar members for ethic complaints and violations. It would be interesting to see if he would be able to follow up properly on an ethics complaint filed by a citizen who might cite the conflict of interest Clark has in this matter: representing the Rodriguez family on behalf, and at the behest, of the governor who is related to them by marriage, and against the overwhelming best interests of the Territory and local taxpayers.
Or will he find a way to only look for the whistleblower…citing appropriate law, of course, to not look any further than he is directed to.
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If these guys can walk away with not paying taxes - why should anyone else on Guam be made to do so? We should all demand a 90% reduction on our tax burden….which means you should call your senator and the governor’s office and demand 90% more tax money back from GovGuam.
Millions for insurance companies, hotels and other big businesses. No taxes. Dennis Rodriguez is not an insurer. He is not a large employer. He is related to Eddie Calvo through marriage. When is enough going to be enough….?
