Government
Three Speakers Face Money Misuse Charges
Speakers in three U.S.-affiliated islands—Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and American Samoa—were charged in December with misusing public funds. Palau Speaker Mario Gulibert and FSM Speaker Jack Fritz are the highest elected officials in either nation to be charged with criminal money abuses. The court dates for these elected officials come as the United States government is increasing pressure on its affiliated island nations and territories for financial accountability and transparency.
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Fritz is facing 11 criminal charges, Gulibert has been charged with a combination of 17 criminal and civil charges, and American Samoa Speaker Matagi Ray Mailo McMoore was hit with a civil suit by a fellow legislator. The charges for all three revolve largely around international travel.
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The civil charges and criminal counts against Gulibert allege embezzlement, grand larceny and forgery in relation to overseas trips taken in 1998 and 1999. He was charged by Palau’s special prosecutor Everett Walton, whose office also filed criminal cheating, forgery, grand larceny and misconduct in public office charges against Palau National Congress (OEK) Delegate William Ngiraikelau. The Special Prosecutor’s Office is focusing on the OEK, with 11 other OEK Delegates and four Senators on notice that they had until January 15 to respond to the prosecutor’s office on an overseas travel probe.
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Among the charges against Gulibert is that he signed a travel authorization that gave false information about a trip to the United States. He claimed to be attending an investment seminar in Hawaii in 1999 on a trip that included stops in Boise, Idaho and Los Angeles, Calif., the charges allege. His travel voucher indicates that he arrived in Honolulu on June 26, but according to the charges, the investment seminar concluded several days before he arrived. Other trips in 1998 included stops in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Boise, Idaho and San Francisco, Calif., trips that Walton describes as “all unofficial and should not have been financed by the government.” An estimated $20,000 is involved in the charges. Gulibert was to be arraigned as this issue of Pacific Magazine went to press.
The charges against Palau Delegate Ngiraikelau also relate to travel abuses. The charges say that he received $5,646 for a trip to San Francisco to meet with members of the Western Legislative Conference in June 2001. Special prosecutor Walton said that officials with the organization said there was no conference in June 2001, and also were unaware of any contact with any member of the Palau National Congress.
In the FSM, Speaker Fritz is an 11-term incumbent who has been speaker for the last 16 of his 22 years in Congress. He is currently seeking election to a seat that would put him in line to be the next president of the FSM. He was charged on December 20 with 11 criminal violations of the National Financial Management Act and other laws related to misuse of government funds. In explaining the case against the highest-ranking FSM official ever to be criminally charged, FSM Attorney General Paul McIlrath said simply that the rule of law applies equally to all people in the FSM. “Although this is regrettable, in light of the holiday season, filing at this time was necessary because of the statute of limitation applicable to the alleged violations,” McIlrath said.
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Fritz, in a statement released by the FSM Congress, expressed “surprise and disappointment” at the charges. He said he was particularly disappointed that the charges were filed during the holidays and so close to the upcoming national election. Fritz is battling FSM Vice President Redley Killion for the one four-year seat from Chuuk. Many observers believe that whoever wins this seat in the March election will be the next FSM president.
In American Samoa, Speaker McMoore has been hit with allegations that he misused more than $56,000 in legislature funds. The civil suit was filed by long-time lawmaker Rep. Agaoleatu Charlie Tautolo. He claims that the speaker improperly gained public funds and credit in the amount of $41,440.03 in May 2001. He alleges that the money was used to privately purchase a “luxury car” for his use. Tautolo also claims that the speaker illegally obtained $14,800 for travel by his wife in May and September 2001.
—Nancy Chism and Fili Sagapolutele contributed to this article.
