Former OMV employee who forged commercial permits gets a second chance

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A former employee of the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV), a division of the Department of Public Safety (DPS), charged with providing forged commercial driver’s permits to several locals, was sentenced yesterday, with Associate Justice Fiti Sunia saying the court was having a difficult time determining what triggered the defendant to do it, as it doesn’t match the character testimony given in court.

Matthew Tafua, 23, was initially charged with two counts of forgery and two counts of acceding to corruption - both felonies. But under a plea agreement with the government, accepted by the court, he pled guilty to acceding to corruption, a class D felony, and the remaining charges were dismissed.

Tafua admits that on July 18, 2018, he knowingly solicited a benefit in the form of US currency in exchange for issuing a fake driver’s license to Gasolo Gasolo. The case came to light when an aiga bus was pulled over in Nuuuli on Sept. 15, 2018. The driver was  Gasolo, whose commercial driver's permit was questioned because it was handwritten and not properly signed by the OMV manager.

Gasolo admitted to police it was a forged commercial driver’s permit that was fixed and given to him by OMV employee, Tafua; and he paid Tafua $60 for it on July 18, 2018.

When given the chance to speak, Tafua apologized and said, “What I did was wrong. I was young and careless and I did not think of people who would be affected because of my behavior. I let my family down. I let everyone down. I’m truly remorseful for what I did and I beg your honor for another chance to redeem myself.”

Tafua told the court it’s been 6 months since he’s been employed at the LBJ Hospital as a custodian. “I’m not perfect. I made a mistake and I learned from it. I want to assure the court that if I’m given another chance, I will prove that I can be a new person.”

Assistant Public Defender Rob McNeill called one witness to testify on Tafua’s behalf. Rev. Fr. Vaiula Iulio, the head priest at Christ the King Parish in Nuuuli testified that Tafua is one of the few young men in the church he depends on. He said Tafua is an active member of the church, a helpful person, and a good leader. Despite what happened, Fr. Vaiula continued, Tafua never changed his attitude in fulfilling his duties at the church. Not only does he continue to serve but also leads the altar service every Sunday. “He’s one of my reliable ones,” Fr. Vaiula said.

McNeill asked the court to sentence his client to probation without any period of incarceration. He said Tafua took full responsibility for his actions and has shown that he’s truly remorseful for what he did.

Assistant Attorney General Doug Lowe asked for probation with some period of detention, saying what Tafua did was very serious and could have caused harm if something happened on the road.

Lowe said that while Tafua is a suitable candidate for probation, the only thing that doesn’t sit well with the government is that Tafua thinks his conduct was not wrong.

Tafua was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Execution of sentence is suspended and he is placed on probation for 5 years, subject to several conditions. He is to serve 20 months at the TCF - all of that is deferred except 30 days. After being credited 10 days for pretrial confinement, Tafua only has to serve 20 days behind bars.He is also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine within the first 90 days of probation.

“Mr. Tafua, you asked us to allow you a second chance to prove yourself. We’re giving you what you asked for. If you fail during any step of this, there will be no more second chance for you. Don’t take us for fools - use this opportunity wisely,” Sunia said.