Indonesia Extradites U.S. Suspect to Manila
Indonesia on Friday extradited an American treasure hunter wanted in the Philippines on charges of rape and defrauding investors with promises of sunken loot.
Dennis Standefer, a Los Angeles native arrested in Indonesia in 1999, could face a death sentence in the Philippines if found guilty of the reported 1994 rape of a 15-year-old girl in Surigao del Sur province and multiple charges of fraud.
He is accused of persuading many Americans and Filipinos to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance dubious treasure-hunting activities in the Philippines, including a search for a Japanese wreck from World War II. The wreck turned out to be worthless.
In an interview after arriving in Manila, Standefer denied the fraud and rape accusations and said he was the victim of a plan to seize hidden treasure. He said he was not in the Philippines at the time of the reported rape.
He arrived at the Manila airport handcuffed and sedated and with bandages on his wrists.
Ricardo Diaz, Interpol chief for the National Bureau of Investigation, said Standefer will stay in a Manila cell until courts in Surigao del Sur, about 500 miles southeast of Manila, request his transfer.
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