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Lawyer: Court dismisses theft raps vs. Customs man
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Posted on Aug 02 2005
The Superior Court reportedly dismissed theft charges against a Customs official after prosecutors realized that he did not intend to extort money from a Chinese woman.
Defense counsel Steven Pixley said that the court dismissed with finality theft by extortion and theft by deception charges against his client, Manuel T. Vilaga, ending a bench trial that began Monday.
Pixley said he asked Associate Judge Ramona Manglona to review the tape-recorded conversation between Vilaga and a witness, which the magistrate allowed.
Yesterday morning, though, Pixley said prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the charges after discovering in the tape that Vilaga did not intend to pocket money from Chinese national Zhou Yaping and had actually wanted to pay Customs tax.
Pixley lauded the move by assistant attorney general Joseph Taijeron, saying that it was ethical and honest.
“I want to commend him [Taijeron] for being honest and having integrity. Other lawyers would prefer to win the case,” the defense lawyer said. “My client’s very happy.”
Pixley said that Vilaga had an agreement with the Customs Division that has placed the officer under suspension without pay since Nov. 19, 2004. But the agreement also provided that, if the case were dismissed, Vilaga would be reinstated to his position and be given back pay.
Operatives arrested Vilaga at the parking lot of a Chalan Kanoa restaurant during entrapment operations on Oct. 28, 2004.
Court records showed that Zhou arrived on Saipan from China on Oct. 16, 2004. Customs officials seized from her items that were considered contraband, but she was allowed to leave the Saipan International Airport.
The charges against Vilaga alleged that the officer told Zhou that she could end up in jail for bringing in the items. The defendant allegedly represented that he could release the items to her in exchange for money.
