Tinian senators drew down $340,000 in allowances

Tinian’s senators didn’t just benefit from federal dollars through the BOOST grant program. They also have been  taking the maximum legislative allowance almost every single month since their term began two years ago.

According to files Kandit obtained through an Open Government Act disclosure from the CNMI Department of Finance:

Sen. Jude Hofschneider received $115,000.

Sen. Francisco Cruz received $110,000.

Sen. Karl King-Nabors received $115,000.

According to the Finance records, Mr. Hofschneider, who is the senate president, requested and received the maximum $5,000 monthly allowances from January 2021 through December 2022. He did not make a request for September 2022, according to the documents.

The records show Mr. Cruz also requested and received the maximum $5,000 monthly allowances from January 2021 through November 2022. He did not make a request for September 2022, according to the documents.

Like Mr. Hofschneider, Mr. King-Nabors requested and received the maximum $5,000 monthly allowances from January 2021 through December 2022. He did not make a request for October 2021, according to the documents.

Members of the Commonwealth Legislature, according to their rules, are allowed to drawn down a maximum of $5,000 each month in allowances to assist them to carry out the functions of their office. The funds, however, must be used for a public purpose.

Kandit has previously reported on both Mr. Hofschneider and Mr. Cruz’s draw down and use of the maximum $5,000 in monthly allowances throughout their last term in office. Mr. King-Nabors only became a senator in January 2021.

As previously reported, the senators and other republicans who had been drawing down from the slush fund, refused to disclose the receipts of their expenditures, claiming the government did not require to disclose the receipts, only to keep them.

Senators Teresita Santos and Paul Manglona from Rota, who also drew down allowances in the previous term, did in fact disclose their receipts to Kandit, showing their expenditures were indeed for public purposes.

Outgoing Sen. Vinnie Sablan drew down the maximum allowances in the previous term, and for two years repeatedly assured Kandit he would disclose his receipts. He never did.

All three of the Tinian senators will be returning to the Commonwealth Senate in the next term. The three, along with Rota Sen. Victor Hocog, Sen. Sablan, and Saipan Sen. Justo Quitugua, were instrumental in stopping the removal of Gov. Ralph Torres from office at the start of 2022.

Had Mr. Torres been removed, the BOOST scandal would not have happened. And at least two of the three Tinian senators’s families and campaigns would not have directly benefitted from the federal funds.