Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz took a surprise trip to Antigua over the weekend to help New York Rep. Edolphus "Ed" Towns spring a group of his Brooklyn constituents after their run-in with local law enforcement led to a monthlong marooning.

The four women and two men had spent two nights in jail and were forbidden from leaving the tiny Caribbean island after a Sept. 4 incident during a cruise-ship stopover.

Chaffetz, who is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was asked by the Democrat to accompany him as part of a two-person delegation to advocate on behalf of the six who had been charged following a dispute over cab fare and a fracas with police.

A report published on the Antiguan news site caribarena.com Oct. 3 said five of the six had appeared before an island magistrate Saturday and pleaded guilty to a variety of offenses, including battery of a police officer. Chaffetz, along with Towns, who is chairman of the House oversight panel, met with officials Saturday to expedite a resolution of the matter.

"We just shared the fact that the national media was not going to take very well … six Americans being held over a $50 cab dispute," Chaffetz said. "They'd been going through this legal case, and we got them to accelerate it."

Chaffetz said the matter began when, according to the six tourists, they agreed to pay an unlicensed cab driver $50 for a round-trip excursion to a beach while on a six-hour visit to the island. A dispute arose when the cabbie claimed it was $50 each way, and after an argument, took the group to a police station. Chaffetz said the New Yorkers claimed the scuffle with police erupted after they got to the station — the building was not clearly marked and they were convinced they were being robbed when approached by people who were not in uniform.

Though Chaffetz was on the island Saturday during the hearing, he did not attend the proceeding. He left Saturday night after meeting with officials while Towns stayed over and left Sunday morning. Chaffetz said the magistrate ruled on the case Monday afternoon, imposing fines under $5,000 on the five, who pleaded guilty, but levying no further jail time. Charges against a sixth tourist were dropped over the weekend. All six were given permission to leave the island, and Chaffetz said they are booked on a Wednesday flight back to New York.

While acknowledging that the six New Yorkers were likely not completely innocent of wrongdoing, Chaffetz called the mission a success in getting closure.

"No doubt these people were guilty of something, but not necessarily to the level of being held for 30 days," Chaffetz said.

"I think we had an effect … I feel much better about it now than when we went down."

e-mail: araymond@desnews.com