A former federal housing employee who admitted to taking bribes from tenants will only spend a month in jail, despite receiving a yearlong sentence.
Antonia Mayo-San Nicolas was sentenced April 4 after pleading guilty to three counts of receiving bribes, a third-degree felony. But Judge Michael Bordallo ruled all but 30 days of the sentence should be suspended as time served.
While working as a housing specialist at the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority, Mayo-San Nicolas, 55, admitted to soliciting bribes from tenants seeking to qualify for the Section 8 program between September 2014 and January 2016.
According to the Pacific Daily News, Mayo-San Nicolas struck a plea deal in 2016 to get additional charges dropped after she was indicted along with two others in a joint investigation between the FBI, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Office of the Attorney General of Guam.
Her attorney, Leevin Camacho, said Mayo-San Nicolas received a total of $800 in dealings with three tenants.
The paper said that former Section 8 landlord Albert Buendicho pleaded guilty to conspiracy as a second-degree felony, while former tenant Mattos Johnson pleaded guilty to bribing Mayo-San Nicolas so she would certify his eligibility for Section 8.
Assistant Deputy Attorney General Joseph McDonald said Mayo-San Nicolas also demanded money from new GHURA clients, “folks who really didn’t have the money.”
“That certainly diminishes the integrity of the program,” he said.
Section 8 is a voucher program to help low-income families subsidize rent at private properties. In 2015, 2.17 million families used the program, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Mayo-San Nicolas will also pay a $10,000 fine.
