Governor of Guam, Aide Charged With Bribery; Kickbacks Alleged

The governor of Guam was indicted Wednesday on bribery, extortion and fraud charges, primarily involving a kickback scheme in which he allegedly was given $60,000 in cash in exchange for approving a government contract.

Gov. Ricardo J. Bordallo, a Democrat, was charged hours after he denounced the federal investigation as politically motivated and said the inquiry “reeks of colonialism and even racism.” He faces a tough primary election in three days.

The indictments of Bordallo, 58, and his assistant chief of staff, Rose Ramsey, are the latest in an FBI investigation of corruption on the Pacific island, a U.S. territory since 1950 and site of a key American military base. Dozens of officials from both major political parties have been indicted and convicted.

Ramsey was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, bribery and two counts of extortion. Ramsey joined Bordallo’s staff after her husband, state Sen. Eugene Ramsey, died two years ago.

Bordallo appeared Wednesday before the federal grand jury investigating him in the city of Agana but read a statement and departed without answering questions.

The 12-count indictment charges that Japanese and Guamanian businessmen paid Bordallo $60,000 in exchange for his approval of a proposal to build a scrap-metal facility at a Guam commercial port. The indictment said the payments were passed through Johnny P. Carpio, a prominent Guamanian architect and political supporter of Bordallo.

K. William O’Connor, the U.S. attorney in Guam, has dismissed Bordallo’s contentions that the Reagan Administration is pursuing him for political reasons as “fabrications and utter nonsense.”