Attorney General investigating payments to radio station owned by the governor; rips into failed disaster recovery

Attorney General Douglas Moylan is investigating whether crimes were committed, when public funds were used to pay for two of the governor’s senior advisors to host a propaganda show about typhoon disaster recovery on radio stations partly owned by the governor’s family.

He also is criticizing the pace and competency of Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s disaster response to Typhoon Mawar, which hit Guam May 24, or nearly three weeks ago.

“Our office is already investigating any procurement and Ethics Law violations,”  Mr. Moylan said, in response to an investigative report by The Guam Daily Post executive editor Phillip Leon Guerrero.

The Post story exposed an initial $10,000 purchase order, obligating public funds, to Sorensen Media Group in exchange for Carlotta Leon Guerrero and Jayne Flores to host two two-hour radio talk shows about the disaster recovery effort every weekday. Carlotta Leon Guerrero is the governor’s special assistant for military and federal affairs. Ms. Flores is the governor’s director of women’s affairs.

Both are former journalists. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s family trust owns shares in Sorensen.

“A request for quotes was sent out on May 31, 2023,” Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense public affairs officer Jenna Gaminde Blas said. “Only three [radio] stations were operational at this time. Quotes were received from Choice Broadcasting, Joy FM, and Sorensen Media Group.”

Harvest Family Radio, KHMG 88.1 FM, also has been broadcasting. In fact, it was the only radio station that never went down during and immediately after the storm.

“Unlike previous typhoons, local media outlets were unable to maintain operations due to damaged or missing antennas, lack of power, and limited telecommunications,” Ms. Blas said. “Despite the Joint Information Center’s best efforts to collect and disseminate information before, during, and after Typhoon Mawar’s landfall, the audience was limited to those with access to WhatsApp and other social media platforms. Recognizing that radio partners were the quickest to return to broadcast, it was evident a radio talk show would increase reach and provide for live interviews and calls from the public.”

“The first problem was why Civil Defense failed to have prepared in advance a reliable government AM broadcast communication station to keep our people informed knowing full well that these typhoons take out private radio broadcast towers,” Mr. Moylan said, referring to protocols already in place since 2014 by GHS/OCD. That was the year of the North Korean missile crisis, when emergency management officials began making preparations for the possibility of downed cell phone and radio signals during and after a disaster.

Competing radio station offered same price, time slots

Governor’s director of communications and joint information coordinator Krystal Paco-San Agustin said Sorensen offered the lowest price for every-weekday, once-in-the-morning and once-in-the-afternoon time slots for the governor’s advisors to host the propaganda show.

The initial purchase order to Sorensen was for $10,000. However, Sorensen competitor Choice Broadcasting, which is the parent company of The Point, which features the morning The Ray Gibson Show and the afternoon Tall Tales with Bob Klitzkie, also submitted a $10,000 proposal for the four-hours-every-weekday show.

“I offered a four hour schedule and was ghosted,” Choice general manager Ray Gibson said.

“I’m happy to be a witness,” Mr. Gibson said of the attorney general’s investigation into the scandal.

Mr. Gibson, the host of The Ray Gibson Show, has been a vocal critic of Gov. Leon Guerrero, especially her handling of the pandemic.

Purchase order amount increased 600% one day after award

The May 31 request for quotations was quickly followed by a June 1 purchase order to Sorensen, according to the documents disclosed by GHS/OCD. A day later, on June 2, the government issued an amended purchase order that increased the payment to Sorensen by 600 percent to $60,000.

On the same day The Guam Daily Post made its inquiry about the scandal, Ms. Blas informed Mr. Leon Guerrero of The Post that a new procurement to include the rest of the media would be forthcoming.

AG rips on corruption, administration, utilities, and senators

Mr. Moylan, who has been vocal  in his criticism of the government’s handling of the disaster response, let out far more than news of his investigation. We provide you his full response to the media:

“Our office is already investigating any procurement and Ethics Law violations. This is the same line of grave concern about this or any governor having financial ties to lucrative businesses whilst controlling the Executive Branch, whether that be banking, insurance or any other business that gets rich off of the taxpayers whilst they are suppose to be our public servants. The gubernatorial dynasties and party politics must end that enrich these families at taxpayer expense.

“The Guam Legislature needs to outright ban any business that has a financial connection with the governor or her immediate family. Their piecemeal and ineffective ‘ethics law has to strike at the heart of the gubernatorial dynasty families who have multi-million dollar financial interests to taxpayer purchases.

“We are living like cavemen and women because of a cascade of government failures by the Consolidated Commission on Utilities and this administration. These officials were paid handsome salaries to have protected us from this cavalcade of fiascos. We are a laughing stock of the world that we experienced the exact same type of dry season super typhoon on May 21, 1976 (Pamela) and have learned nothing. From water, power, communications, financial transactions to basic fuel distribution. All civilized public welfare systems controlled by this government failed miserably. We are three weeks out and people are still suffering, living on subsistence existence with a $1 billion government that just blew our cash reserves giving themselves a 22 percent sustained and permanent pay increase across the board whilst the private sector must bear the burden for such a financially reckless and shortsighted decision.

“In 2002 Pongsona was a wake up call to keep our water well gensets working and remove all wooden telephone poles. The CCU failed us miserably. Where are the massive GPA line crews restoring power? Why are there about seven bucket trucks sitting behind the ITC building in the yard?

“The legislature needs to conduct serious oversight hearings about eliminating the overly bloated, expensive and ineffective CCU because of all their failures, and restoring control back to the governor. The Organic Act never allowed the creation of this function to be taken from our chief executive. The Public Utilities Commission already ensures fair utility rates to protect the ratepayer and ensure capital investments into the utilities.

“I challenge this legislature to make a real difference in fixing what caused our people’s ongoing and unacceptable suffering. If they won’t then we should elect real leaders in the next election who will. I definitely have had it and will do what is necessary to prevent this from ever happening again.”