United States v. Ricardo Bordallo, Governor of Guam

Ricardo Bordallo, former Governor of Guam, appeals his conviction, after a jury trial, of criminal charges including extortion, bribery, and witness tampering. The charges stemmed from Bordallo’s acceptance of cash payments totaling $79,600 in exchange for the award of government contracts. Bordallo characterized the payments as “campaign contributions” with “no strings attached.” On appeal, Bordallo challenges the jury selection process, the sufficiency of the evidence, evidentiary rulings, and the jury instructions. We affirm Bordallo’s convictions for witness tampering and conspiracy to obstruct justice. We reverse Bordallo’s convictions for bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, extortion, and conspiracy to commit extortion.

BACKGROUND

Bordallo was elected the Governor of Guam in 1982, and his term was to expire on January 4, 1987. In September 1986, the Guam Federal Grand Jury indicted Bor-dado on criminal charges. The Government’s case centered on four transactions occurring while Bordado was Governor. These are characterized in the record as: (1) the TC & C payoff, (2) the Sood/Sablan transaction, (3) the IT & E payoff, and (4) the Jones gratuity.

In the TC & C payoff,…