Fitial, OPA again ask for more time as negotiations continue

Former governor Benigno R. Fitial, through his counsel, and Office of the Public Auditor legal counsel George Hasselback again asked the Superior Court yesterday to give them more time to possibly resolve the criminal case against Fitial without going to trial.

At a status conference, Fitial’s counsel, Stephen Nutting, and Hasselback asked for a continuation of the trial setting conference in two weeks as their negotiations are still ongoing.

Associate Judge David A. Wiseman accepted the request and set a trial setting conference for April 29, 2015.

Nutting told Saipan Tribune after the brief hearing that Fitial is still in the Philippines. He refused to comment further. Nutting recently flew to Manila, Philippines, where he met with Fitial to discuss the case.

At a status conference last March 18, Nutting and Hasselback asked the court to postpone the status conference. Wiseman agreed and set the status conference for yesterday.

Last Feb. 18, Hasselback and Nutting informed Wiseman about their intent to hold talks to resolve the case. Wiseman gave them more time and ordered them to return to court on March 18, 2018.

Wiseman had granted Hasselback’s motion to reconsider his dismissal of the criminal charges against Fitial. In granting the motion, the judge basically reinstated four of the 13 criminal charges against the former governor.

The remaining four charges against Fitial refer to alleged criminal activity associated with the police escort provided former attorney general Edward T. Buckingham in August 2012 that shielded him from being served with penal summons.