Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez (born September 10, 1962,

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

) 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 A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Benigno R. Fitial. Villagomez took office as Lieutenant Governor on January 9, 2006, after being elected as a ticket during the 2005

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

. Villagomez, like Fitial, was a member of the Republican Party 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 people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

. He was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution at Phoenix,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. 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. 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