Lapid’s wife back in PH after US probation for cash smuggling—immigration exec

Sen. Lito Lapid and his wife Marissa. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The wife of Senator Lito Lapid is back in the country, the Bureau of Immigration said Friday.

Marissa Tadeo Lapid was on board the Cathay Pacific flight CX 907 that landed Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, said lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang, immigration spokesperson.

The senator’s wife was sentenced to three years of probation by the US Court for cash smuggling. Mrs. Lapid was penalized following a series of cash deposits she made in different banks in Las Vegas from January 2009 to June 2010 totaling more than $150,000.

Under US laws, banks are required to submit to the federal government currency transaction reports on cash deposits that exceed $10,000. Lapid’s cash deposits ranged from $5,000 to $9,000.

All the deposits, plus the $40,000 confiscated from Lapid when she arrived at McCarran International Airport on Nov. 27, 2011, were forfeited by the US government.

Lapid was held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Las Vegas for three days after she was arrested on Jan. 15, 2012.

She was able to return to the country after the US Probation Department allowed her to leave. Her immigrant status in the United States had been cancelled.