Office of Public Auditor’s investigative unit

THE Office of Public Auditor’s investigative unit completed 22 investigations involving allegations of government fraud in the last three years, starting in 2005, according to documents obtained by Variety
Twenty-one of those investigations led to convictions, and one remains open.
An agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigations resulted in the formation of a joint task force on white-collar crime and public corruption, and all investigations by this task force have resulted in convictions in federal court.
In 2007, OPA entered into a memorandum of understanding with the CNMI Attorney General’s Office to form a joint task force on white-collar crime and government corruption.
Among the procurement appeals that was resolved by the unit was that of the Telesource CNMI Inc. which filed its appeal with OPA after no action was taken on its protest regarding the Commonwealth Utilties Corp.’s request for proposals.
OPA ordered that the solicitation be cancelled as, based on the findings set forth in the decision, it was determined that the RFP was not in compliance with CNMI procurement regulations. The appeal was heard on July 20, 2007.
In April 2007, OPA denied the appeal of DK Brothers after OPA determined that the cancellation of the RFP was in compliance with the CNMI procurement rules and standards.
The same decision was rendered by OPA when One-Call Maintenance filed an appeal regarding the Public School System’s invitation for bids for cleaning services for Kagman High School’s food courts.
OPA found that the stated evaluation criteria were reasonable and very specific and that the company admitted failure to submit the labor certification.
In June 2006, Island Business Systems & Supplies filed its appeal with OPA after the director of procurement denied its protest regarding the procurement of a copier machine from Xerox Corporation by the Northern Marianas Housing Corp.
OPA granted the appeal as it was not procured pursuant to the CNMI procurement regulation and the lease with Xerox appeared to be contrary to the CNMI laws.
OPA did not ratify the lease agreement and was remanded to the director for determination and appropriate action.
The appeal filed by Kautz Glass Co. against the education commissioner on denial of the company’s protest was also resolved by OPA.
Kautz had been awarded a contract under the solicitation and which was subsequently cancelled by PSS after determining that the company did not submitted the lowest responsive bid.
Because PSS procurement regulations provide for cancellation as a remedy after award, which appeared to be the basis for the commissioner, OPA denied Kautz’s appeal.
OPA, in July 2007, dismissed two appeals filed by Fabriclean CNMI. Inc. that pertained to the solicitation of laundry services for the Commonwealth Health Center