The four-women, two-men jury in the trial of former customs officer Sheehan Sam Seigafo has found him guilty of all four charges.
The jury deliberated for 1 1/2 hours before delivering their verdict around 7 pm Wednesday.
Seigafo was convicted of bribery, attempted bribery of a public servant, importation of contraband and undeclared merchandise and tampering with evidence.
The defendant who is out on bail, is to be sentenced January 8, next year.
The defense did not call any witnesses during the three day trial.
Witnesses for the prosecution were customs officers who were at the Post Office on July 26, 2024 when a box containing 38 vacuum sealed packages that contained crystal methamphetamine, with a total weight of 39.9 pounds, was found as well as police officers who investigated the case.
A DEA agent who tested the crystal methamphetamine that was found also testified via zoom.
The box was addressed to Ms Ollie Schuster who at the time was a security officer for the LBJ Hospital.
It was the testimony of customs officer Leiato Faaoso that Seigafo offered to give him $3,000 not to inspect the box that was addressed to Ms Schuster. The evidence presented to back up the claim were screen shots of conversations on FaceBook messenger between the defendant and officer Faaoso.
The reported bribe offer was $3,000.
It was revealed in testimony during the trial that Seigafo had been the target of an internal customs investigation into importation of drugs and weapons.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Faustine Filemona, Sara Charpentier and Alex Theohares.
Seigafo was represented by private attorney Neal Connors. Associate Justice Elvis Patea were joined on the bench by Associate Judges Faamausili Pomele and Paepae Joseph Faiai.
Testimony of Customs Officers
Customs officer Peleti Mauga Jr. testified in the trial of former customs agent Sheehan Sam Seigafo that the defendant was the subject of an internal investigation regarding the possible importation of drugs and firearms.
Mauga, who was the supervisor of the Customs Canine Unit on July 26, 2024 when 39.9 lbs of crystal methamphetamine were found in a box that was addressed to Ms Ollie Schuster, said the investigation was initiated based on information shared by another customs agent Le’iato Faaoso. He said that Faaoso would send to him screen shots of messages from Seigafo via FaceBook messenger.
With repeated objections from Seigafo’s attorney, Neal Connors on the line of questioning by Assistant Attorney General Faustina Filemona, which were sustained by Associate Justice Elvis Patea, the exact information in the messages were not revealed.
Mauga testified that the canine unit was called to the Fagatogo Post Office after the discovery of drugs on the morning of July 26, 2024. He and three other canine handlers and their dogs arrived at the Post Office about an hour after they received the call.
He said he took photos of the 38 vacuum sealed packages containing crystal methamphetamine that were laid on the inspection table in the Customs Office at the back of the Post Office. Each package was numbered and weighed and the weight of each was written on Post It notes. The heaviest weighed 1.83 pounds while the rest were about 1 lb each.
Mauga confirmed that photos shown on the projector in the court room were a fair and accurate representation of the photos he took of the contraband.
Mauga explained that after the packages were weighed a second time the four canines did a sweep to confirm that the contents were prohibited substances. He described that each of the dogs changed behavior, their noses went up, they became hyper and sat where the strongest odor of the illegal substances was from.
Earlier, customs officer Faafotutupu Fano testified that the 38 vacuum sealed packages with the crystal methamphetamine were in a second box which was sealed in a black bag placed underneath clothes in a bigger Home Depot box.
Mauga testified that after the sweep by the customs dogs they did a chain of custody report, placed all of the packages in the second box, put the second box into the Home Depot box and transported it to the Department of Public Safety.
During cross examination, defense attorney Connors asked Mauga if he saw Seigafo at the Post Office that day. The answer was no.
Connors also questioned if he recalled where the box was mailed from but Mauga said he couldn’t recall. Did it come on Hawaiian Air? “I believe it came on the cargo flight,” was Mauga’s reply.
Connors asked the witness if he was familiar with Ms Ollie Schuster, the addressee of the box in which the drugs were found. Mauga said she was a suspect in a 2022 case also involving drugs. But he said no arrest was made because a suspect parcel was “rejected, returned by those doing the investigation.”
A customs supervisor, Faifua Suafoa, testified that the day before the July 26, 2024 incident in which the 39.9 pounds of crystal methamphetamine were found, the defendant provided a doctor’s note that he was sick.
At the time Seigafo was in the Customs Vessel Inspection Unit.
Suafoa, who was Seigafo’s immediate supervisor, said that on the morning of July 26, he and another customs officer were driving to Leloaloa to inspect a container there. On the the way he saw Seigafo’s vehicle, a white Toyota 4-Runner parked in front of the old Tutuila Store. He said he knew it was Seigafo’s vehicle as it had a sticker, the size of a basketball, with the letters FIE. He explained that the three letters stand for Family is Everything. He himself also has the same sticker.
Suafoa said the planned container inspection at Leloaloa didn’t happen so they headed to Tafuna.
He testified that when they passed the Fagatogo market he saw on the rear view mirror that Seigafo’s vehicle was about three cars behind them. He said that the same vehicle turned into the Post Office parking lot.
While heading to Tafuna, Suafoa said he received a call about the drugs being found at the Post Office so they turned back near the gas station at Utulei and headed to the Post Office. He testified that he saw Seigafo’s white 4-runner in the Post Office parking lot.
Defense attorney Connors asked the witness in cross examination about how Seigafo was as an employee during the five years they worked together.
Was he a good employee? Was he reliable? Suafoa answered yes to both questions.
Were there any problems in their working relationship?
Suafoa said it was only for the last two years where Seigafo had disagreements with the Chief of Customs. That’s when he became distant and did not attend gatherings for the office.
