Wiseman says FBI cleared him of bribery allegations

“I agree there is smoke, but the smoke is from the backfire of Representative Stanley Torres.”

A fuming David A. Wiseman, Supreme Court associate justice nominee, declared during a morning press conference yesterday where he categorically denied having bribed a former employee of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation.

“The evidence presented by Representative Torres consists of statements of Jesus Sasamoto, a convicted felon, who accuses me of paying money to lower the utility bills at the Surf Hotel. His statements are not true. I did not do the acts he accuses me of having done,” Mr. Wiseman said.

He also revealed that Mr. Sasamoto’s allegations have already been seen and eventually thrown out by the FBI, the US Attorney and Superior Court. Albeit, Mr. Wiseman failed to show any document to support his claim.

Moreover, Mr. Wiseman said the supposed “smoking gun” evidence dug up by Mr. Torres should not be taken at face value.

He said Mr. Sasamoto made the statements to the FBI at a time when the former government employee was being charged for taking bribes for favors he granted to Long Beach Corporation and Misa Enterprises.

“He (Sasamoto) accused others of crimes in order to reduce the time he would have to serve in prison by cooperating with law enforcement,” Mr. Wiseman intimated.

Mr. Wiseman also questioned the legality of the written statement of Mr. Sasamoto since it was an unsworn statement and was not taken under oath.

For his part, Mr. Wiseman revealed that he was indeed interviewed by the FBI and the US Attorney in connection with Mr. Sasamoto’s revelations. To this day, no charges have been brought against him, he said.

The bribery allegations resurfaced during the Senate’s EAGI Committee meeting last January 18, where, according to Mr. Wiseman, the Public Auditor and the Attorney General cleared him of any wrongdoing.

On the matter of the “sealed case” against him pending at the Supreme Court being alleged by Mr. Torres, Mr. Wiseman said that such a procedure was not unusual.

He said the case was a complaint to the bar association and complaints of that nature are always sealed. He also said that Judge Marty W.K. Taylor saw no merit on the case and threw it out even without his testimony.

Asked if the recent exposes by Mr. Torres would affect his nomination to the Supreme Court, Mr. Wiseman calmly said he hopes that after close scrutiny and examination of the facts at hand, the Senate would junk the allegations.

Mr. Wiseman also said Mr. Torres was an old friend and that he has no clue as to why the legislator has raged a crusade against his nomination as Superior Court associate justice.