Corrections officer charged after allegedly aiding escape from TCF

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —  A corrections officer has been criminally charged for allegedly aiding the escape of prisoners from the Tafuna Correctional Facility. Laufau Moliga, currently held on a $10,000 bail, faces one count of aiding the escape of a prisoner. This felony carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Court documents indicate that in September of last year, the police received a tip that known inmates Sierra Isaia and Sui Tago were seen in the villages of Vaitogi and Ili'ili in a vehicle, which was being driven by someone wearing a police uniform. The information about the vehicle and the inmates was disseminated through an all-points bulletin via Police radio, alerting officers on the road to be on the lookout for them.

The vehicle was spotted in Nu’uuli, where it was pulled over. The identities of the two passengers — Sierra Isaia and Sui Tago, both inmates of the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) — were confirmed. The driver was identified as Laufau Moliga, a Corrections Officer assigned to the TCF.

All three individuals were transported to the Tafuna substation for questioning and were Mirandized. The Vice and Narcotics unit was called in for assistance after the traffic-stop officers discovered illegal substances in Tago's possession.

During the police questioning, Isaia reported that Assistant Warden Apoga Custodio of the TCF had permitted CO Moliga to take him and Sui Tago to pick up a paint machine from Ili'ili, and to help paint Moliga's house in Kokoland.

Isaia further stated that upon arriving at Custodio's home in Ili'ili, they found that the storage had been broken into and someone had taken the paint machine. They then visited friends' houses looking for a paint machine and were on their way back to the TCF when they were stopped by the police in Nu'uuli.

CO Moliga stated during his police questioning that he had notified Warden Siaosi Leaea a week before he departed from the island that he needed the inmates to help paint his home, and the Warden had given him permission to take the inmates for this task.

However, he explained that he could not take them that week due to bad weather. On his day off, he requested Assistant Warden Apoga Custodio's permission to take the inmates to assist him with his job at home, which Custodio granted.