The U.S. Attorney for Guam and the CNMI seems to be the only law enforcement official doing anything about corruption in our islands. Yesterday, U.S. Attorney Shawn Anderson’s prosecutors won a guilty verdict against Mark Smith on every count of corruption in his indictment. Today, Mr. Anderson’s office succeeded in convincing federal Judge Alex Munson to sentence University of Guam professor Thomas Marler to a year and a day in federal prison.
Mr. Marler has been convicted of federal corruption charges stemming from the rigging of bids at UOG involving federal funds. His co-defendant, John Hobart Lawrence, was sentenced to four months in a federal penitentiary.
Members of UOG’s faculty shamelessly came to Mr. Marler’s defense despite the gravity of his crimes of corruption, in much the same way several UOG faculty members asked a local court for leniency on convicted rapist professor Michael Ehlert in 2017.
Not only did faculty members defend Mr. Marler, they wrote their requests for leniency on official UOG letterhead.
Typical UOG. It has the resources to defend a corrupt member of its faculty, but no money to continue scholarships for struggling students.
