Sunia Set to Sink

American Samoa

Prosecution now seems certain.

By David S North.

FOFO SUNIA, American Samoa’s delegate to the US Congress, offered to resign his office if the US Attor ney’s Office in Washington dropped pay roll fraud charges against him, according to the authoritative Washington publica tion Roll Call.

The offer was refused, and Sunia and his principal aide, Matthew luli, face pos sible, perhaps probable, criminal prosecution.

Sunia, like other members of the US Congress, has control of a payroll of about SUS4OO,OOO a year. He has been accused of placing four prominent Samoans, in cluding a relative of his, and two uncles of luli, on the payroll in “ghost” jobs involv ing no work. Roll Call reported that one of the employees did not know that he was on the payroll, and never saw or received any cheques from the Government. (See article in Pacific Islands Monthly Octo ber, page 20.) The US Attorney in the District of Co lumbia, an appointee of the Reagan Ad ministration, has opted to press the case in Washington, DC, where the cheques were issued, rather than in American Sa moa, where the people on the payroll live.

This decision has proved to be an expen sive one, because it is said that as many as 20 witnesses from American Samoa have been flown to Washington at more than SUS2,OOO each in round-trip airfare at Government expense.

The legal situation, at time of writing, is; the staff of the US Attorney, Joseph diGenova, after an extensive investiga tion in both Washington and Pago Pago, reportedly offered to indict the Congress man and luli for only one felony, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, if they pleaded guilty to the single charge.

Alternatively, the US Attorney’s Office would proceed to seek indictments on a series of felony charges.

Sunia made a counter-offer to resign, according to Roll Call, but this was re fused. luli reportedly accepted the offer. (Typically, in such instances in US courts the person or persons accepting the plea bargain, as luli has been said to do, then testifies for the prosecution in the case.

Whether luli will do this is not known; at last report he remained on the Congress man’s payroll.) Since Sunia and the US Attorney’s of fice have not worked out a plea bargain, that office will proceed with its investi gations, and it is expected, perhaps in De cember, to seek a criminal indictment from a grand jury. A trial would follow. The whole process, unless short-circuited by a

plea bargain, could continue well into 1988.

Sunia, and all other Congressmen, face elections in November, 1988.

Sunia’s office has been largely silent on these stories, but it did issue the following statement: “Mr Sunia has not pleaded guilty to anything, and he has not heard anything like that at all. He has not seen or spoken to any investigators from the Se cret Service or any Assistant Attorneys General from the (United States) Depart ment of Justice.”

While the major Washington dailies have paid little attention to Sunia’s troubles, other than a single story in The Washington Post, there has been some speculation about who might seek his po sition if he vacates it before November, 1988. Should such a vacancy occur enough

in advance of the regular election to war rant it, the Governor of Samoa, A P Lutali, could call a special election.

Among the names bandied about in this connection are Eli Hunkin, a Democrat and one-time protege of the late, powerful Chairman of the House Insular Affairs Committee, Philip Burton. Hunkin is now Lt Governor of American Samoa. Also mentioned is Robert Urle, another Sa moan who has held a staff position in the US Congress. Still another name is that of the former Republican Governor of American Samoa, Peter Coleman.

But there will be no by-election until there is a vacancy, and Sunia is showing no outward signs of leaving his position.

He was a witness before a US Senate hear ing recently, in which he pressed for rapid Senate approval of the long-pending tuna treaty. He appeared recently at another Congressional hearing. At both, accord ing to observers, he seemed confident and cheerful. □