Lapid wife was held in US jail for 3 days, says lawyer

LOS ANGELES—The preliminary hearing on the cash smuggling case against Marissa Lapid, which was scheduled for February 7, has been postponed, according to Lapid’s lawyer, Elliot Krieger.

“There is no rush to get it to indictment,” Krieger told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview.

This developed as Krieger disclosed for the first time that Lapid was held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Las Vegas for three days after she was arrested on January 15 for allegedly smuggling $40,000 into the US on Nov. 27, 2010.

“She did not have to be detained for three days,” said Krieger, who got Lapid released from detention. “She was not a flight risk.”

The US government placed a lien on Lapid’s Las Vegas property to cover her $500,000 bail. She also wears an ankle  bracelet equipped with a GPS to monitor her location, and her travels are restricted to  Clark County.

Court papers obtained by the Inquirer showed that ICE special agent Albert Giangregorio, of the agency’s Money Laundering Asset Removal Group (MLAR), stated in an affidavit that Lapid “knowingly concealed $40,000” when she arrived at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Nov. 27, 2010.

Lapid, a permanent resident or green card holder, declared in the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) form that she was carrying $10,000 and P10,000 (equivalent to $225), Giangregorio said in his affidavit. After searching her luggage, ICE agents found $40,000 in two socks and a  cloth bag hidden in the lining, he added.

US federal law requires arriving passengers to declare any currency or monetary instrument totaling $10,000 or more. Violators are fined a maximum of $500,000 and the money recovered is confiscated by the US government. Bulk cash smuggling is also punishable by a maximum 10-year imprisonment, according to a source from Homeland Security.

When asked about the conflicting statements made by Marissa and her husband, Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid, on what the $50,000 was intended for, Krieger said: “What the money  is for or the source of the money is not material to the specific charge that she is being charged with and the allegations that are being made.”

Court documents showed that when Marissa was questioned by customs officials about the undeclared money, she said “I’m sorry…it’s for my house.”

But according to Senator Lapid, his wife intended to use the money for medical expenses, explaining that she had gone to the US to seek treatment for a bone ailment.

Krieger said what was more relevant to the case was “that Mrs. Lapid has complied with the invitation of Homeland Security to deal with the issue.”

“She returned to the US on January 15 for the purpose of meeting with Homeland Security,” he said.

A former assistant US attorney, Krieger also said that “it’s possible” the case will be dismissed, citing some of his previous cases “things happened and the case was dismissed,” said Krieger, a Harvard Law School graduate who works with the Southern California-based firm Jarvis, Krieger and Sullivan.

Krieger said a new preliminary hearing date will be set within 60 days.