Arriola’s parents: ‘Joey will not do such thing’

When Antonio Arriola, 59, his wife Mary, 47, and three children were brought to the Superior Court to face charges of conspiracy for obstruction of justice on March 7, 2000, it was probably the longest moment in their life.

On that day, at around 2:30 p.m., some 10 police and detectives on board five patrol cars surrounded the Arriola apartment in Garapan. Immediately, the police handcuffed Joey, his sisters Antoinette and Darcy and brought them to the Department of Public Safety. But Mr. and Mrs. Arriola, who were included in the arrest warrant, were not home that day, but they rushed to DPS to surrender themselves.

“We are not criminals, but we were treated like ones,” said Mrs. Arriola.

Assistant Attorney General James Benedetto has accused the Arriola family of trying to convince a minor to recant her statement alleging sexual abuse by the controversial lawyer.

According to Mr. Benedetto, the Arriola family had offered the girl money to sign a document that would “cast doubts” on the prosecution’s case. The Arriola family had denied the charges in court.

Mr. Benedetto had earlier filed five counts of sexual abuse against Joey for allegedly engaging in sex with a minor identified only as J.C.M. The girl used to baby-sit for Joey’s child.

“I know my son Joey. He is not stupid to do such thing. He will not even hurt anybody,” Mr. Arriola said in an interview. “My son will never do such thing.”

Visibly hurt and shaken by the sudden turn of events, Mr. Arriola only wished that the whole event is just part of a bad dream that will go away in a snap of a finger so they could go on with their lives.

“I love him so much. If I have any wealth, I would do anything just to make things right. If I have to go to jail, I will do it to save my boy,” he said.

According to Mr. Arriola, he believes that the accusations leveled against Joey was meant to “destroy” his son’s budding career as a lawyer. Joey, in recent months, has hugged the headlines for taking the government to court in connection with a gambling case. The arrest of his client, Joey claimed, was illegal since the action was initiated by then acting Attorney General Maya Kara. According to Joey, Ms. Kara’s tenure in office was questionable because her appointment violated the CNMI Constitution.

“There are people who just want to put our family down. People will always find a way to say things and destroy others,” Mr. Arriola said.