PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Former Honolulu deputy prosecuting attorney Afa Ripley Jr. has been appointed as the new attorney general for American Samoa, officials said.

Ripley, 58, replaces Sialega Malaetasi M. Togafau, who died in March from complications related to cancer. He was appointed by American Samoa Gov. Togiola T.A. Tulafono.

Ripley said he looks forward to developing the attorney general's office as an "agency that is responsive to the needs of the government and community and that will serve the people of the territory responsibly and with integrity."

The territorial Senate approved Ripley's appointment, and the House endorsed the nominee April 30.

With his appointment confirmed, Ripley has stepped down as chairman and board member of the American Samoa Power Authority and has also left his law firm.

Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle remembered working with "Art" Ripley in the prosecutor's office in the 1980s and lifting weights together after hours.

"He was a real good prosecutor — articulate and competent," Carlisle said.

Ripley is remembered in the prosecutor's office for having "one of the fastest murder convictions in the history of the state," Carlisle said.

Carlisle could not recall the specific details of the case but the jury's speed in deliberations has become a legend in the office, he said.

"The jury left and within a few minutes there was a knock on the door with the verdict," he said. "Arthur was a big, tall, powerful-looking guy and the joke was that he said, 'I want a guilty verdict. And I want it now.' "

In 1980, the city prosecutor's office withdrew from the prosecution of murder defendant Ah Ching because Ching was a cousin of Ripley's.

The city prosecutor's office at the time emphasized that there was no impropriety but withdrew from the case to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

In a 1987 newspaper profile, Ripley said he felt torn between the opportunities in his adopted Hawai'i home and the pull of responsibility to extended family members from Samoa, where he was born.

Ripley and his wife, Marie, produced a Hawai'i television program called "Samoa I Hawaii" that aired on Sunday nights on Channel 20, the article said.

But Ripley had already limited his Samoan contacts in the Islands and lost many Samoan clients because the clients did not pay.

He had also decided to limit his financial assistance to close family members only. He also found that he had to limit the size of contributions to his church.

"I'm a lawyer, one of the first to practice of Samoan ancestry," Ripley was quoted as saying in the 1987 article. "To me, it's not a big deal. But others think you're a millionaire. They expect you to give so much."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.