Sunia in Payroll Storm

American Samoa

Serious accusations hound the charismatic congressman.

By David S. North.

AMERICAN SAMOA Congress man Fofo I.F. Sunia has been ac cused of misusing his office payroll. While much of the story is murky at time of going to press the following has emerged: • The sum at stake is between SUS7O,OOO and $120,000; • Four one-time island members ofSun ia’s staff, including the manager of Pago Pago’s only hotel, are charged to have done little or no work for their compensation; • Washington-based US Secret Service agents have visited American Samoa, and the federal prosecutor in Washing ton is investigating the accusations; • No charges have been filed in the Sunia case and, officially, no one is saying anything; • Sunia’s office like all US Congres sional offices is well funded, and no Pacific island has representation in Washington, as expensive per head, as American Samoa; • The Reagan Administration has a re cord of devoting much investigatorial energy in charging non-white. Demo cratic officeholders (such as Sunia) with wrong-doing.

Regarding the “ghosts” on Sunia’s pay roll, as background, all members of Con gress are given carte blanche to spend up to $400,000 a year on their staffs. Who they hire, what the staff does, and what it is paid is the member’s decision. Usually, about half the staff works in Washington, and the other half works in the member’s district.

Wire service and Samoa News stories have charged that four of Sunia’s district staff did little or no work for the Congress, while continuing to be paid by Sunia.

Three of these are related either to Con gressman Sunia or to his principal assist ant, Matthew luli. They are: • John A G Faiivae, the hotel manager. He is an uncle to luli. • Faiivae’s brother, A G Matautia, also an uncle to luli. He works as a travel agent, and was recently defeated in a by-elec tion for a seat in the Samoan legislature. • Letoe’e Galoloai, who, according to Roll Call , Washington’s Capitol Hill news weekly, is related to the Congressman. • Papa Velega, a Samoan high chief.

All four were on the Sunia payroll at some time during 1985 and 1986, the years of interest to the Secret Service. All were gone from the payroll by the first quarter of this year.

The Associated Press reports the four

received about $70,000; however, Roll Call's investigative reporter, Shannon Bradley, found a total of $120,000 in pay ments. For example, Faiivae and Matau tia were each paid $25,000 in 1986.

The most interesting of the four is Faii vea. He is: a high chief; a former consult ant to the Governor (A P Lutali); a former member of the elective Samoan Senate; a member of the Democratic National Committee (an unpaid post); a contribu tor to Sunia’s campaigns, and, it has re cently been reported, has recently been fired as manager of the hotel. (The Rain maker hotel is owned by a public corpo ration controlled by the Territorial Government. Reports are that the Gov ernor only recently learned that Faiivea was on both the hotel’s and the Congress man’s payroll.

When charges of such payments arise on Capitol Hill, as they do from time to time, there is usually one of two explana tions: the Congressman used the money to pay off significant politicians back home, an inappropriate but certainly not un known activity; or the Congressman placed names of non-existent people or of friends on the payroll and cashed the checks for personal use, a criminal act.

Unofficial speculation is that one of these explanations may be behind the Sunia controversy.

However, on the advice of a high-priced Washington lawyer, Sunia is not talking to the press.

However, Roll Call reports: “Samoa News publisher Lewis Wolman said his re porters were told that some of the people to whom Sunia’s office wrote cheques did

not know they were on the payroll and never received any money. However, Wol man’s staff refused to name names, citing the Samoan custom of respect for privacy.”

Further complications grow from in ternal relationships within Sunia’s staff.

For example, according to one report in the Associated Press, “Sunia has contended to prosecutors that luli ... the Administra tive Assistant, was the ‘mechanic’ who implemented the scheme, according to one source.”

There is obvious tension in Sunia’s of fice, but luli remains at his job. luli, in cidentally, at $68,000 a year, has one of the highest salaries among the 500-plus ad ministrative assistants in the House of Representatives.

Further, Sunia’s office manager in Pago Pago did not help his boss’s cause when asked about the four staff members, all of whom bore the title “project director”, a term rarely used on Congressional staffs.

The office manager, Malu I Mageo, was asked what projects were directed by these men. Mageo told Samoa News that he did not know, adding “Fofo’s administrative assistant. . . luli, hired the people you are referring to and I was never formally in formed as to who they were or what their function was... they all dealt directly with (1uh)...”

The investigating Secret Service pres ence in Samoa was not secret for long. This arm of the US Treasury has no office in Pago Pago and within hours of their ar rival who they were and what they were doing was common knowledge.

The last point to be made in connec tion with Sunia’s investigation is made by outside observers who point to the Re agan Administration’s record of spending much time and energy investigating elected non-white Democrats.

But what next for Sunia? It is at least possible he will be indicted in the District of Columbia, and stand trial, if the prob lem is kickbacks. Such a process would take many months to a year. Or the House of Representatives Committee on Ethics may consider his case.

The decision is probably Sunia’s. He will be due for re-election in November, 1988. Congressmen with much more seri ous legal problems have run for re-election and won on the mainland of the United States. But the decision to run, or to serve out the term but not seek another, or to re sign, will probably be made in a Samoan context, without much regard for Main land precedents. □

Under fire: Congressman Sunia.