Guam media executive Evan Montvel-Cohen was sentenced to five years of probation today after pleading no contest to a charge of first-degree theft.

Montvel-Cohen, 43, admitted stealing some $30,000 from a Waimanalo landscaping company that he worked for in 2005.
He repaid the money to the firm, Ultimate Innovations, Inc., before he was sentenced today by Circuit Judge Randal Lee.
Montvel-Cohen asked Lee to defer acceptance of his plea, a legal mechanism that would have resulted in no criminal record if the defendant complied with all terms of his probation.
But Lee denied that request, finding that Montvel-Cohen used “deceptive conduct” to take advantage of his employer.
Montvel-Cohen is managing director of a company that owns television stations on Guam. He also co-founded the liberal national radio network Air America.
Additional charges of credit card fraud, forgery and money laundering against Montvel-Cohen were dismissed as part of the plea agreement he reached with prosecutors here.