American wanted in Philippines arrested in Jakarta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Officers from Interpol's National Central Bureau
\nand detectives from the National Police have arrested a 54-year-
\nold American following a request from Interpol in Manila, the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
According to a police officer, who asked for anonymity, Dennis
\nAustin Standefer, 54, was apprehended on Saturday for having
\nviolated Indonesia's immigration law.<\/p>\n
\"We arrested him based on the fact that he had overstayed his
\nimmigration permit by at least 10 months,\" the source told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. Wayan Ardjana, secretary of Interpol's National
\nCentral Bureau of Indonesia, confirmed the arrest.<\/p>\n
He however did not give details, saying that the investigation
\non Standefer was still underway.<\/p>\n
Separately, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar
\nSianipar said that Standefer was apprehended for using a fake
\npassport and not possessing adequate travel documents.<\/p>\n
\"He's currently detained at the Interpol office,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Standefer could face maximum imprisonment of five years or a
\nmaximum fine of Rp 25 million (US$3,380) for breaching the
\nimmigration law, Sianipar said.<\/p>\n
According to the police source, Standefer is listed as one of
\nthe most wanted criminals in the Philippines for his alleged role
\nin a series of crimes in the country.<\/p>\n
\"He's at least charged for, among other things, raping a girl
\nand exploding part of a mountain there,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Contacted from his office in Manila on Tuesday, officer Mario
\nA. Garcia of the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation
\n(NBI) hailed the successful work of the Indonesian police
\nofficers in allocating and apprehending the suspect.<\/p>\n
Garcia said that he would soon meet his superiors to discuss
\nthe possible extradition of Standefer to the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Defraud<\/p>\n
According to him, the American is suspected to have defrauded
\na number of people who invested their money in Standefer's
\nbusiness of hunting artifacts.<\/p>\n
\"The NBI has also charged him for allegedly raping a 16-year-
\nold girl in Mindanao in 1994,\" Garcia told the Post.<\/p>\n
During his stay in the Philippines, Standefer was once jailed
\nfor several weeks for immigration violation but was freed later
\nafter claiming he was suffering an illness, Garcia added.<\/p>\n
Standefer, he said, was also believed to be the man behind the
\n1995 illegal explosion of Mount Parker, also in Mindanao, which
\nkilled nearly 100 people, in one of his efforts to trace local
\ntreasures.<\/p>\n
\"We were then after him so we could possibly charge him with
\nhomicide,\" Garcia said, adding that he believed Standefer
\nillegally fled the country.<\/p>\n
Following the arrest of Standefer, an American man -- who said
\nhe was a victim of Standefer's treasure hunting business --
\ncontacted the Post to relay his experience dealing with the
\nsuspect.<\/p>\n
Karl Steven Ryll, a teacher at Valle Lindo High School at El
\nMonte, California, said he raised about US$90,000 from his
\nfriends to invest in Standefer's business while he invested
\n$6,000.<\/p>\n
However when things went bad last year, he spent thousands of
\ndollars in an effort to trace Standefer.<\/p>\n
Reward<\/p>\n
He promised a $2,500 reward to anyone in the U.S. who could
\narrest him.<\/p>\n
Ryll then hired a private investigator before later contacting
\nthe American Federal Bureau of Investigation. But still Standefer
\ncouldn't be found.<\/p>\n
Ryall said he was delighted when a police officer informed him
\nof Standefer's arrest.<\/p>\n
\"I clapped. I felt at peace for the first time since the
\ntrouble started,\" Ryll said.<\/p>\n
He said he had been told that the suspect was arrested at
\naround 1 p.m on Saturday at Suropati Park in Central Jakarta when
\nStandefer was on his way home from the antique market on Jl.
\nSurabaya.<\/p>\n
The story, Ryll said, started in 1990 when he first met
\nStandefer at a social club in South Pasadena, California, in
\nwhich the suspect presented club members with the tale of
\ndiscovery of a paddle-boat that had sunk off the coast of North
\nCarolina in 1857 with an estimated 18,900 kilograms of California
\ngold aboard.<\/p>\n
Standefer later told Ryll that he was partially responsible
\nfor the discovery of the sunken boat.<\/p>\n
\"I was impressed by him during his presentation,\" said Ryll.<\/p>\n
Two years later, Standefer invited Ryll to his home to discuss
\nthe discovery of a valuable Japanese World War II shipwreck off
\nthe coast of Camiguin island in the Northern Philippines.<\/p>\n
In the beginning, Ryll even traveled to the Philippines and
\nhelped Standefer in the exploration of the Japanese shipwreck.<\/p>\n
\"But, later I realized I had found nothing but a good scuba
\ndiving site,\" said Ryll.<\/p>\n
Ryll learned that Standefer was in Indonesia during his stay
\nin the Philippines last June. He then flew to Indonesia after
\nsome of his friends informed him of Standefer address.<\/p>\n
Standefer's lawyer, Tisnaya I.Kartakusuma was not available
\nfor comment on Tuesday. (bsr\/ind\/asa)<\/p>",
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