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 n Thursday, October 20, 2005, a
shackled and sullen-faced Michael Ray Aquino appeared in Judge William
H. Walls'
 New
Jersey courtroom to hear the two charges against him, and to enter a
plea of "Not Guilty." Gone from Aquino was the tough-guy "trademark" look
sported by members of the now-disbanded Presidential Anti-Organized
Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).
 In
fact, from his meek courthouse demeanor, it was hard to imagine that
this was the same Michael Ray Aquino, rumored to have orchestrated
or participated in many PAOCTF-attributed atrocities during the Estrada
Administration, e.g.,
kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl H. Buch
asked for a nine-month postponement to give both sides sufficient time
to prepare for this complex trial with its hundreds of classified
documents. U.S. District Judge William H. Walls however denied that
request and set a court date of Jan. 17 for a status conference. Judge
Walls, a cum laude graduate from Dartmouth College and Yale Law School
is well known for his legal ability and excellent judicial manner.
 Anti-GMA
forces are mobilizing to support Aquino and prove him innocent.
A pro-Panfilo Lacson (Aquino's former PAOCTF boss) organization called "Be Not Afraid" has even indicated that
it would publish online, Michael Ray Aquino's emails "so the readers can
judge for themselves if these letters compromise U.S. Security."
 If
this
deliberate publication of classified information does occur, it could
further complicate matters and place that organization and its many
members who live in the US under even closer government scrutiny.
Meanwhile, assistant federal public
defender Chester M. Keller, lawyer for Leandro Aragoncillo's, is still
trying to work out a plea bargain for his client, who faces the same
charges as Aquino, plus the unauthorized use of a government computer,
which by itself carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Now, if the
prosecution agrees to a plea-bargain, then Michael Ray Aquino may end up
facing the charges all by himself.
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