The Director of the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) Tuimalo Elvis Zodiacal has been served a letter of termination.
Two senior administration officials confirmed that Tuimalo got the ax for his alleged driving under the influence incident over the weekend. The director was arrested Friday night and issued a DUI citation, for which he spent Friday night at the Territorial Correctional Facility before being bailed out the next day.
He is to appear on May 30th, to answer to the charges after an initial appearance in District Court this past Monday.
Chief of Staff Loa Tuimavave Laupola has not responded to questions about the firing, but KHJ News have been told that the letter of termination was served yesterday.
Tuimalo was serving his first term as a cabinet member, having been appointed by Governor Lemanu as Director of HPO, in March of 2021.
The Governor said, at the time, Tuimalo’s credentials and extensive years of experience as an educator makes him well suited for his role.
Tuimalo was a long time educator at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) and was, most recently, the ASCC librarian.
He earned his AA from ASCC in 1985, before going on to complete a BS at the University of Guam, and his MA from San Diego State University. Besides his regular teaching duties, Mr. Zodiacal has also been a longstanding advisor to the college’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.
He was one of 23 recipients from the US affiliated territories awarded a scholarship to work towards a Master’s Degree from the University of North Texas in 2010.
