A former senator in the Northern Marianas, Thomas Villagomez, has been tagged as the leader of a prostitution ring by a man appealing his sentence for sex trafficking.
Mr Villagomez, who currently serves on the board of the Commonwealth Ports Authority, was implicated by Wei Lin when he called on District Court chief judge, Ramona Manglona, to disqualify herself because the former senator is her brother.
Lin was accused of luring women from China to Saipan on false promises of jobs and then forcing them into prostitution once they arrived on island.
He pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges and was sentenced to just over 19 years jail.
Lin claims multiple witnesses identify Mr Villagomez as the owner/ operator of a commercial building and a karaoke night-club where the complaining witnesses allegedly engaged in prostitution.
Lin also alleged that the former senator employed him.