APEC dudes beware, not even Obama’s buddy can escape Honolulu prostitutes’ sting

Atty. Emmanuel Samonte Tipon

“Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” Assyrian Prover

Do you seriously think that a cordon sanitaire and police barricades around Waikiki can deter APEC dudes from sampling Honolulu’s beautiful ladies of the evening? Boys will be boys. Prostitution is as old as the Bible. Jesus consorted (not cavorted) with a prostitute – Mary Magdalene after saving her from stoning by shouting “Let him who has no sin cast the first stone.” Many believe she was the “13th apostle”.  Jesus lovers say this proves Jesus was not gay. However, in the film “The Last Temptation of Christ,” Magdalene disrobed inside their tent exposing her throbbing breasts while giving Jesus the “come into me” look. Jesus walked away. Magdalene went into a tantrum throwing things like a frustrated junior concubine (“bitin”). See, the anti-Christ say, Jesus was gay. 

On April 4 a very close friend of Obama was charged with allegedly soliciting a prostitute. I’m glad it was not his Filipino buddy. He was a schoolmate of Obama at Punahou and they play basketball and golf.  He is a “commercial fisherman” and “flight attendant”. He and the Obamas had barbecue at his beachfront home last Christmas. He accompanied Obama while dropping flowers at Blowhole, a scenic spot, where Obama’s mother’s ashes were scattered.

The Honolulu police conducted a reverse sting operation at South and Pohukaina Streets, a dark nondescript area of empty lots and warehouses, an unlikely place where harlots would ply their trade. Daily Mail, a British newspaper (you might not have read about it in the pro-Obama mainstream, or lamestream, media, as Sarah Palin calls them), reported that Obama’s buddy, 49, “was arrested after he allegedly approached an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute”. Star Advertiser quoted the complaint alleging he “did engage in or agree or offer to engage in sexual conduct . . . with another person, for a fee thereby committing the offense of prostitution,” a petty misdemeanor, subject to a $500 fine and/or 30 days in jail. He posted a $500 bail and was released. In America well-connected people go out on the streets for sex? Que barbaridad. In the Philippines such people call the police chief to bring girls.

On May 2, Obama’s buddy entered a “deferred acceptance of no contest” plea (DANC) to prostitution. The charge would be dismissed if he avoided legal entanglements within six months. He was sentenced to pay a $500 fine plus $50 court fees, and appear on October 19 to prove compliance. According to Jim Dooley of the Hawaii Reporter, the prosecutor objected, contending that Obama’s buddy “already had a chance to keep his record clean” when he received a similar deferral of a charge of leaving the scene of an accident in 1989, and was convicted of a criminal contempt of court charge in 1986. He had also plea bargained a speeding charge on March 24. A case search disclosed that Obama’s buddy had the following judgments against him since 1999: speeding, driving without headlights, failure to use seatbelts, no taillights, speeding, parking on federal highway, operating vehicle with mobile electronic device (cell phone), speeding. Star Advertiser reported that Obama’s friend was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and striking an unattended vehicle in June 1987; arrested for criminal contempt of court and driving without a seat belt, and pleaded guilty in August 1989, fined $290, and his license was suspended for 90 days.

Obama’s buddy complied with the prostitution sentence’s conditions, and the charge was dismissed. Is this another example of the “tayo tayo” system saving an Obama friend from jail? Previously, we wrote an article on whether “tayo tayo” also saved Obama’s uncle and aunt from deportation. Google “Tayo tayo” system” and you’ll find my article tops the list. If a common tao who had several brushes with the law is arrested for prostitution, will he receive the same lenient treatment?

Kerfuffles, a blogger, recalled that during the presidential campaign mainstream media refused to ask probing questions of Obama which was considered racist and people wondered “Who is this guy? Who were his friends? Who were his associates?”  Now you know.

As for the APEC dudes, will the police charge those soliciting prostitutes? Perhaps Obama will grant them amnesty. That’s the aloha spirit.

(Atty. Tipon has a Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He specializes in immigration law and criminal defense. Office: 800 Bethel St., Suite 402, Honolulu, HI 96813. Tel. (808) 225-2645. E-Mail: filamlaw@yahoo.com. Websites: www.MilitaryandCriminalLaw.com, and www.ImmigrationServicesUSA.com. He is from Laoag City and Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. He served as an Immigration Officer. He is co-author of “Immigration Law Service, 1^st ed.,” an 8-volume practice guide for immigration officers and lawyers. Listen to the most witty, interesting, and informative radio program in Hawaii on KNDI at 1270, AM dial every Thursday at 7:30 a.m., rebroadcast at  www.iluko.com. This article is a general overview of the subject matter discussed and is not intended as legal advice. No warranty is made by the writer or publisher as to its completeness or correctness at the time of publication.)