Rapadas explains why US govt did not prosecute Fitial over massage

Former U.S. Attorney for the U.S. District Courts for Guam and the NMI Leonardo Rapadas believes the reason why the U.S. government did not prosecute then-governor Benigno R. Fitial when the massage issue broke out in 2010 was because they were concerned at the time about the criminal case of the masseuse.

In an interview last week, Rapadas said they wanted to make sure at the time that the masseuse’s case would not be compromised.

“Our determination at that time was there wasn’t any. So I think maybe what happened at that time was that we’re more concerned about the case with that masseuse,” said Rapadas, who is now the CNMI’s chief prosecutor.

It’s the first time that Rapadas spoke about the massage issue. When the incident happened on Jan. 8, 2010, he was the U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the NMI. In June 2010, Alicia Limtiaco succeeded Rapadas as U.S. Attorney for both districts.

Citizen activist Glen Hunter recently stated that his focus right now is to ask the federal government to immediately install the CNMI’s own U.S. Attorney.

Hunter believes that if the CNMI had one when Fitial “committed many of his many major crimes, a CNMI-based U.S. Attorney would not have turned a blind eye,” rather than for the public to wait over five years for the local courts and the Office of the Public Auditor to bring Fitial to justice.

Rapadas said the massage incident happened many years ago and that his memory is fuzzy on why the U.S. government did not prosecute Fitial.

He, however, recalled that one of the things that they did was they tried to bring Fitial in and speak to him about what happened.

Rapadas said there are issues that are not covered by federal or local laws so the federal and the Commonwealth governments work together to determine how to best address a particular situation if there’s any violation of law.

Fitial signed a plea agreement with the government and pleaded guilty last May 13 to misconduct in public office and conspiracy to commit theft of services.

Last June 24, Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman slapped Fitial with a one-year prison term. Gov. Eloy S. Inos later commuted the sentence.

The offense of misconduct in public office refers to the time when Fitial had his masseuse—a female Chinese who was at that time a federal prisoner at the Department of Corrections—temporarily released so she could massage him at his house on Jan. 8, 2010.

The conspiracy to commit theft of services refers to Fitial’s role in former attorney general Edward T. Buckingham’s efforts to evade lawful service of process during his departure from the Commonwealth at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on Aug. 3 or 4, 2012.

In documents submitted in court, Fitial’s lawyer, Stephen J. Nutting, explained the government’s side of the story in the massage issue.

According to Nutting, while many have chosen to believe there was something untoward with the massage, Fitial in fact had an ongoing contract with the massage therapist’s employer, which he had been paying personally for many months prior to the therapist’s arrest.

Nutting said when the therapist failed to show up for the daily treatment, Fitial contacted the agency and learned that his massage therapist had been arrested.

The lawyer said that in the late evening of Jan. 7, 2010, on the very eve of his second inauguration celebration as governor, Fitial was suffering from severe and excruciating back pain.

Nutting said it was only when the pain became too much to bear—and with the inauguration scheduled for the following day—that Fitial contacted the Department of Corrections.

At that time, Nutting said, Fitial learned that the Chinese masseuse was in the custody of DOC on federal charges related to immigration matters.

Nutting said that Fitial contacted then-DOC director Dolores San Nicolas and asked if an escort for the masseuse to treat him would be permissible.

San Nicolas later stated that she attempted to contact the Attorney General and U.S. Marshal Don Hall, but neither responded to her late-evening calls.

Nutting said San Nicolas made what she later described as an “executive decision” and arranged for the prisoner to be escorted to Fitial’s residence, all the while in the custody of DOC personnel.

Nutting said the following morning, the AG and then-U.S. Assistant Attorney General Eric O’Malley were notified of what had transpired.

Nutting said a hearing was held that same morning in front of U.S. District Court for the NMI then-Chief Judge Alex Munson.

The lawyer said at the hearing, Munson concurred with the AG that even with DOC escorts, such releases should not happen again in the future.

Nevertheless, Nutting said, no charges were brought by the U.S. Attorney for the AG against Fitial, or anyone else connected with the escort.

“Nor did Judge Munson impose any sanctions or reprimand against Mr. Fitial or the Department of Corrections for their actions related to the escort,” he pointed out.