BI to deport ex-airman for bribery, extortion

A former sergeant of the United States Air Force, who is facing bribery and extortion charges in his native country, will soon be deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said.

In a statement, Libanan said the BI Board of Commissioners has already issued a deportation order against 33-year-old Rommel Isidera Schroer. He has also been placed in the BI blacklist.

Schroer reportedly took bribe money from agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who were pretending to be drug traffickers.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum jail term of five years and fined $250,000, the US Embassy in Manila said.

Records showed that the US Embassy in Manila sought the assistance of the BI in locating and apprehending the fugitive. They finally tracked him down last Oct. 10 in Makati City.

BI records showed that he has been hiding in the country since Dec. 8, 2007. He was already an undocumented alien when he was arrested because the US government had already canceled his passport.

The US Embassy said a warrant of arrest was issued by the Arizona court against Schroer as a result of his “unlawful flight to avoid prosecution” for his alleged crime. – Evelyn Macairan