Arriola bows out as Cabrera’s counsel

The US District Court will finally put an end today to the celebrated trial of former Finance Secretary Antonio R. Cabrera. But this time, the lawyer who was beside him from the start would no longer be by his side.

Attorney Joseph A. Arriola has formally bowed out as counsel of Mr. Cabrera.

Last February 16, the Superior Court handed out a decision granting Arriola’s request to withdraw from Criminal Case No. 00-0337, citing good cause.

The Superior Court’s decision caps a wild and woolly episode in the Mr. Cabrera case, which started when the former government officials shocked the public when he fired Mr. Arriola the day when the US District Court was supposed to come out with the sentence on charges of corruption.

The move forced District Judge Alex R. Munson to postpone Mr. Cabrera’s sentencing until today. This, after he rejected the ex-government official’s request for a 45-day stay on the promulgation.

A year ago, Mr. Cabrera was found guilty on three counts of theft involving federal funds. The prosecution succeeded in proving that the former finance secretary paid himself a total of $5,840.73 in typhoon differential. The request covered eight storms from 1994 to 1996, two of which he was off-island on government-paid trips.

The jury also convicted him of pocketing $20,000 which he received as travel advance for a trip to Manila in December 1996. He later received reimbursement of $20,884.35 for receipts and expenses from that trip without deducting the first payment.

Mr. Cabrera was also found guilty for releasing $30,621.25 from the local coffers without supporting papers to pay Candido Castro for a federally-funded project in Tinian in late 1996. Mr. Castro is the owner of surveying firm Castro and Associates.

However, he was lucky to get away from bribery charges stemming from the same incident. It should be noted that Mr. Castro testified that he paid $3,000 to Mr. Cabrera in exchange for the release of the funds.

In his declaration in support of the motion to withdraw as counsel, Attorney Arriola revealed that he has not been paid a single centavo by Mr. Cabrera since he accepted the case. This, despite incurring substantial legal fees for representing him.

Mr. Cabrera will be represented in the sentencing this morning by lawyer Dan Aguilar.