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Fitial, OPA still in talks to resolve ex-governor’s case
Nutting to meet Fitial in Manila next week
Former governor Benigno R. Fitial and Office of the Public Auditor legal counsel George Hasselback are still in talks to possibly resolve the criminal case against Fitial without going to trial.
At a status conference yesterday afternoon, Stephen Nutting, counsel for Fitial, informed the Superior Court about the parties’ ongoing talks.
Nutting disclosed that he will be leaving for Manila, the Philippines, by next week to meet with Fitial to discuss the matter.
The lawyer said he and Hasselback agreed to ask the court to set another status conference.
Hasselback was not present in court yesterday.
Associate Judge David A. Wiseman agreed and set the status conference for April 8.
Nutting said he will be going to Manila just to talk to Fitial about the status of the case.
“And we might proceed from here,” he said, without elaborating.
Last Feb. 18, Hasselback and Nutting informed Wiseman about the parties’ intent to hold talks to resolve the case.
Wiseman agreed to give the parties more time and ordered them to return to court on March 18 (yesterday) for a status conference.
Wiseman had granted Hasselback’s motion to reconsider his dismissal of the criminal charges against Fitial. In granting the motion, the judge basically reinstated four of the 13 criminal charges against the former governor.
The remaining four charges against Fitial refer to alleged criminal activity associated with the police escort provided former attorney general Edward T. Buckingham in August 2012 that shielded him from being served with penal summons.
