A government transportation official of the Federated States of Micronesia pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to conspiring to launder bribe money he accepted from the president of a Honolulu civil engineering company.
Master Halbert, 44, assistant secretary and safety inspector of FSM’s Division of Civil Aviation, faces a maximum 20-year prison term at sentencing in July. He remains free until then on signature bond but is prohibited from leaving Oahu.
Frank James Lyon, 53, of Lyon Associates Inc., pleaded guilty to bribery in January and faces a maximum five-year prison term at sentencing next month.
Halbert told Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway that he managed Lyon’s FSM contracts and took the bribes “in exchange for me giving or extending (the) contracts.”
His lawyer Myles Breiner said Halbert voluntarily traveled to Honolulu to face the charge against him and pleaded guilty to accept responsibility for his actions.
“He has a great deal of pride as a Micronesian. He recognizes that this presents a negative image of doing business in Micronesia. And he regrets that,” Breiner said.
Federal prosecutors say between 2006 and 2016 Lyon paid approximately $200,000 in bribes to Halbert in the form of cash, travel expenses, vehicles and college tuition for a relative, to secure $7.8 million in government contracts for his civil engineering company. They say Halbert solicited the bribes, and at times threatened to cut off the contracts, if Lyon didn’t pay up.
“That’s not how I believe it started. I understand that’s how the plea agreement reads in this case. I’m not at liberty to discuss information that I have about the origins of the relationship between Lyon (Associates) and Mr. Halbert,” Breiner said.
Lyon Associates has been doing business in Micronesia since before Lyon took over as president of the company his father started and before Halbert became an FSM transportation official.
Halbert’s father is Dohsis Halbert, former FSM senator and former speaker of Congress. His father-in-law is outgoing FSM President Peter M. Christian.
Christian is not eligible for a second term because he lost his bid to retain his at-large senatorial seat in FSM’s parliamentary elections last month. Breiner says Christian lost the election in large part because of the scandal involving his son-in-law.
