Benedetto

It has now been reported that Ombudsman Jim Benedetto will soon be joining the U.S. Attorney's office in Saipan to be a federal prosecutor. Although this was first reported in the press very recently, it has been widely known around the island for some time. For quite some time, a number of anonymous commenters on this blog and others had been savaging the "Ombudsperson", accusing him of all sorts of misdeeds and attacking his character. Shortly after news that Benedetto would be joining the U.S. Attorney's office hit the coconut wireless, those anonymous commenters abruptly changed their tune and started giving Benedetto (well deserved) compliments for his integrity, fairness and commitment to the CNMI. Wow, what a coincidence!

For the record, Jim Benedetto has been an outstanding, dedicated and able public servant. He has always been fair, and has demonstrated that he cares deeply for all of the people of the CNMI. We wish him the best of luck in his new position, and commend U.S. Attorney Leonardo Rapadas for having the guts to make such an outstanding choice. And, unlike some of those Benedetto-obsessed anonymous commenters, we're not just saying that because we're afraid of pissing him off!