Ex-Speaker Rasa, wife contest theft charges

Former House Speaker Oscar Rasa and his wife Patricia pleaded “not guilty” to 28 counts of theft during their arraignment at the Superior Court yesterday.

The Rasas appeared at the courtroom of presiding judge Robert Naraja with their respective lawyers—Edward Joseph Arriola for the ex-lawmaker and public defender Masood Karimipour for Patricia.

The court arraigned the former lawmaker first, whose lawyer manifested that his client was waiving his rights to be read the criminal information and be advised of the rights of an accused. Arriola then denied the charges against his client.

Arriola also demanded for a speedy trial by jury for the former Speaker, asking the court that the defendant be made to undergo trial within 70 days.

Assistant attorney general Jeffrey Warfield argued, however, that he is not aware of any law that mandates trial within 70 days from arraignment.

Karimipour also contested the charges against his client, Patricia, waived the reading of the criminal information, and demanded for a speedy trial within 70 days.

Last week, Karimipour had also demanded for a speedy trial for his client, saying that the last-minute filing of criminal information by the Attorney General’s Office on the original date of arraignment last Jan. 3 resulted in the proceeding’s postponement to yesterday.

The judge scheduled the Rasas for trial beginning Aug. 22 this year. The defense lawyers, however, reiterated their demand for trial within 70 days.

The information charged the Rasas with 28 counts of theft by deception, which the couple allegedly committed on several occasions from Dec. 16, 2003 to June 30, 2004.

The AGO accused the Rasas of scheming to defraud 82-year-old businessman Richard J. Szumiel by obtaining numerous loans and misrepresenting their ability to pay by saying they would receive over $1 million in land compensation from the government.

Verification made by the AGO’s investigators showed that the Rasas have no pending land compensation claim before the Marianas Public Lands Authority. The AGO also said the ownership of the lot that the Rasas said they would get compensated for had long been transferred to another person before the defendants’ transactions with Szumiel.

Based on investigation conducted by the AGO’s investigative unit, Szumiel issued to the Rasas 28 checks totaling $72,000 from December 2003 to June 2004, and some $7,500 in cash. The former lawmaker allegedly endorsed one check in the amount of $2,800, while his wife reportedly endorsed almost all the checks issued by Szumiel.

The Rasas are currently out on bail, after Gov. Juan N. Babauta posted $3,000-bonds for each of them two days before Christmas Day.