(Source: The Guam Daily Post) Former Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority legal counsel Mark Smith denied to the GHURA board any financial interest that conflicted with his role with the agency, but an indictment alleged that he did have a conflict, which he tried to disguise through a series of allegedly fraudulent bank and real estate transactions.

In March 2011, Smith executed a contract with GHURA to serve as its legal counsel, and "falsely certified to GHURA he had no conflict of interest that would prevent him from serving as its legal counsel," according to the indictment, filed on March Monday in the District Court of Guam.

Smith, a former brother-in-law of Gov. Eddie Calvo, was arrested Monday along with Smith's friend, flight attendant Glenn Wong, on a host of charges including 25 counts of wire fraud, and additional counts of theft of government property and money laundering as part of a conspiracy.

As the legal counsel to GHURA, Smith was forbidden from gaining any financial benefit as landlord to households whose rent is paid through GHURA's federally funded Section 8 housing voucher program, according to the indictment...