American fugitive arrested in Mandaluyong

Bureau of Immigration operatives have arrested in separate operations two Americans wanted by United States federal authorities on charges of assault and battery.

Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente identified the Americans as William Schweizer, 32, who was arrested inside his unit at the Tivoli Garden Residences in Mandaluyong on Tuesday, and Apollo Cioffi, 46, who was apprehended inside SM Baguio on March 1.

“Like all other foreign fugitives we have arrested in the past, we will deport the two men and ban them from reentering the Philippines,” Morente said.

Schweizer is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by a circuit court in Broward County, Florida, on charges of felony battery by strangulation.

Under Florida laws, felony battery and domestic battery by strangulation occurs when a person intentionally touches another person against their will and causes them great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement.

Cioffi, on the other hand, is wanted in California for assault.

The bureau said both Americans were overstaying and undocumented, as their passports had already been revoked by the US State Department.

Schweizer has been in the Philippines since July 2015, while Cioffi has been in the country since March 2018.