Guam - As the Civil Service Commission hears the first of seven motions to dismiss adverse actions that were issued against Port Authority of Guam workers who were terminated, new information has surfaced that has agency management raising eyebrows about additional workers compensation claims that were filed and paid at the Port. 

PAG management and legal counsel have expressed concerns with a CSC order that requires the agency to provide all documents that have been turned over to federal and local law enforcement authorities relative to ongoing probes into allegations of corruption and fraud.  The documents were ordered relative to the ongoing appeals of seven Port Authority workers who were terminated for their role in an alleged conspiracy to defraud the government out of close to $100,000 and then allegedly trying to cover it up.

Former Port marketing administrator Bernadette Stern Meno, corporate services manager Vivian Leon, controller Jose Guevara, personnel specialist Francis Arriola, personnel services administrator Francine Rocio, program coordinator Josette Javelosa and planner work coordinator Leonora Leon Guerrero have all denied any wrongdoing. The terminations all stem from Meno's alleged slip-and-fall incident in the Port bathroom in September 2011.

As we reported, Meno refused medical treatment at the hospital at the time of the incident. More than nine months later she asked to see Dr. Steven Hayashida, who was referred to in documents as the "Port's surgeon".  Hayashida was already on contract at the Guam Memorial Hospital for $360,000 a year and recommended Meno go off-island to Hawaii, where he would perform back surgery at a price tag of more than $66,000 not including travel and per diem costs.

In an April 5 letter, Port general manage Joanne brown sent another letter to the Attorney General's Office expressing concerns that documents suggest that Meno committed theft of medical services at GMH under the guise of fraudulent claims.  Meno, through her attorney, Curtis Van De Veld, has said the termination was politically motivated and that the Port has violated her privacy rights by releasing personal information regarding another medical condition. 

It's this pre-existing condition that the Port is now taking issue with, as they received information that a few days before the alleged slip-and-fall, Meno had undergone testing on her back; however, the Port was not made aware of her pre-existing condition. Additionally there are concerns that there is no evidence from any doctor that clearly states her scheduled back surgery recommended by Dr. Hayashida was a direct result of her work injury a year before. Management and the Port's legal counsel have been unsuccessful in getting information about any injury Meno had prior to her alleged slip and fall at the Port.

But apparently Meno's workers compensation claim isn't the only one raising red flags at the Port Authority. In fact, according to documents filed with the CSC, Leon is also accused of committing theft of medical services at GMH under the guise of fraudulent claims. Concerns have been raised that the Port had to foot the bill for the alleged bogus claims. 

According to documents filed with the Civil Service Commission, Leon filed a workers compensation claim in July 2002 alleging that she had been injured at the office. Documents state that a huge shell fell on Leon resulting in a bump to her head and causing headaches. The workers compensation form indicates that she was treated for the injury at the Seventh Day Adventist Clinic, not the Guam Memorial Hospital, which is required by law. 

Three years later, Leon had the Port Authority pay $10,000 for surgery to be performed on Guam by Dr. Hayashida to remove a lump on her forehead that she says was a result of a large shell falling on her head three years before. Leon also made a worker's compensation claim again in August of last year when she started getting headaches and said it was related to work stress.

Port management in an earlier letter to the AG's Office expressed concerns that Leon had the hospital bill sent to the Department of Labor with the intention to have the port pay the bill although no certification had been made that her injury was in fact work-related.  But Brown believes there have been attempts to make changes to Leon's workers compensation records at the agency.

In a letter to the AG's Office on Monday, Brown presented what she believes is additional evidence of what management contends is ongoing criminal activity at the Port. The letter includes statements from other Port workers who claim that Leon's sister, Pia Castro, who is an administrative assistant at the Port, allegedly tried to access her sister's worker's compensation file.  Those particular files, in light of the investigations into similar matters, are currently under lock and key with only limited access by certain individuals. 

Brown says Castro allegedly asked to look into another Port worker's file to ensure information on a form was filled out correctly and then asked to see the same document in her sister's file.  Access was not given and the information was provided to Port management. Brown wrote, "It deeply concerns me that Leon's sister, who still works at the Port, attempted to covertly access Leon's file without any valid basis for doing so...now that Leon has been tipped-off that management discovered her own incriminating documents from last August, her sister is trying to stealthily access Leon's file, which is now part of an ongoing investigation."

The GM has asked for another meeting with the AG's Office to discuss evidence of alleged ongoing criminal activity.