Swimmer Feared Missing Off La Jolla Shores Arrested in Arizona

A Massachusetts man that was reported missing during a swim off the coast of La Jolla on Saturday was arrested in Arizona today. Rescue crews searched for James Repetto, 54, for 20 hours last weekend after a friend reported that he was late returning from a swim off La Jolla Shores.

Authorities acting on a tip arrested Repetto at a home in Yuma this morning, said Keara Price of the Arizona district office of the U.S. Marshals Service.  

Repetto pleaded guilty last fall in Boston to taking part in a kickback and phony invoice scheme that defrauded Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. out of $1.3 million, according to federal prosecutors. Repetto is a former manager of the fruit juice company. He and a co-defendant each face up to 20 years in prison.

Coast Guard and lifeguard units conducted an exhaustive search for Repetto after the report that he went for a solo swim from Scripps Pier to the La Jolla Shores lifeguard tower. According to a Coast Guard spokesman, the weather was less than ideal for a swim that day, with rain falling onto three-foot waves with 15- to 20-knot winds and water temperatures below 60 degrees.

City News Service contributed to this report.