SAIPAN — Criminal cases against former Governor Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres were dismissed with prejudice Monday after Torres and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands reached a global civil settlement agreement, bringing to a close a legal matter that had been pending before the court for nearly four years.
Under the agreement, signed March 23 and ordered by Judge Pro Tem Arthur R. Barcinas, Torres will pay $23,745 to the Commonwealth Treasury representing the difference between premium and economy airfares charged during his time in office. Both parties and the court agreed the dismissal does not constitute an admission of liability, fault or wrongdoing by any party.
The settlement resolves Criminal Case No. 22-0050, in which Torres was charged in April 2022 with 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft, and Criminal Case No. 23-0127, filed in October 2023, which included additional counts of contempt and misconduct in public office. All charges are now dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.
The case had been marked by a significant pretrial ruling. The CNMI Supreme Court disqualified Attorney General Edward Manibusan, Special Prosecutor James Kingman and Robbie Glass from participating due to conflicts of interest, resulting in the appointment of an independent prosecutor. Assistant Attorney General David Karch ultimately handled the matter for the Commonwealth.
In a statement, Torres credited the outcome to the independent review he had pushed for.
“Over the past several years, this process has been difficult for me and for my family,” Torres said. “Through it all, I believed it was important that the matter be reviewed independently so that the people of the Commonwealth could have confidence in the fairness of the process. I am grateful that this chapter is now close.”
Torres thanked his counsel, Anthony H. Aguon, and AAG Karch for bringing the matter to what he called a responsible and professional resolution. The settlement agreement states the trips at issue were made for official purposes and that there was no misconduct in public office.
The resolution comes four days after Torres formally filed with the CNMI Republican Party to seek the governorship in the upcoming election.
