Special Prosecutor Michael P. Copeland said their office received a complaint suggesting misconduct on the part of the former AG.
Copeland said the investigation is now complete and after conferring with other law enforcement officials, his office decided to sue Beattie.Copeland said there were three allegations leveled against Beattie, one of which yielded evidence against the former AG.Copeland said there is evidence that Beattie fraudulently misused government resources by receiving funding to participate in a conference that he did not attend.But Copeland said criminal prosecution in this matter would not be in the best interest of the government.“As a practical matter in order to criminally prosecute Beattie for this crime, it would cost the republic much more money than the expense that Beattie allegedly wrongfully received,” Copeland said.He noted that “Beattie refused to cooperate with our investigation, which is his right under Palauan law. Therefore, if we were to criminally prosecute him, to develop the rest of our evidence we would have to send an investigator to China to find witnesses, and if those witnesses were willing, pay for each of their round trip tickets and lodging in Palau while we conducted the trial.”This, he added, would probably be throwing good money after bad.Instead of prosecuting Beattie, Copeland requested the Toribiong administration to hold the former AG’s final pay check and use it to repay the government for Beattie’s expenses. “If Beattie wishes to contest the decision, he may sue us in court civilly where we can use the broader tools of civil discovery to further develop our evidence,” Copeland said.Beattie was first accused of using his position to solicit a U.S. visa for a personal acquaintance of his.Copeland said Beattie did use a letter head from the AG’s Office to make a request to the United States government on the behalf of his acquaintance, a lady from China.However, Beattie’s letter also stated that the lady had been helpful in a few of the republic’s investigations into human trafficking in Palau, and if required to go back to her country, her life would be in danger.Copeland said their investigation indicated that Beattie’s assertions were probably true and that there is no basis for a criminal or civil action.“While what Beattie did was arguably inappropriate, it was something that should have been handled through administrative discipline and doesn’t rise to the level of criminal misconduct,” Copeland said.The second allegation against Beattie was that he and the lady used his power as AG to extort and blackmail businesses in Palau.But Copeland said their investigation revealed that there was little evidence that Beattie knew of, participated in or approved of, the lady’s actions.Copeland said it is possible that Beattie was not even aware that his acquaintance was making these threats to close down karaoke bars and massage parlors if they did not pay her “protection money.”Copeland said because there is little evidence that Beattie participated in any wrongful conduct, no action will be taken on this matter.
