69
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Bargain hunters inspected a case of jade and jewelry yesterday during the Attorney General's seized-assets auction at Neal Blaisdell Center. At left are Greg Thompson and son Hamilton, 14, and at right are Dina Manuel and son Joey Junior Pawai, 8.
A state public auction of seized property yesterday drew a crowd of hundreds and netted $50,000 for the fight against crime.
An overflow crowd filled the Pikake Room at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, leading to high prices for some items, such as jewelry. But many found deals for the holiday season.
The Attorney General’s Office holds an auction several times a year to sell off items seized in connection with criminal activities. The property on sale yesterday included cars, trucks and other vehicles as well as power tools, laptop computers, jewelry and electronics.
Lisa Thomas of Ewa Beach had the winning bid on a red 1991 Pontiac Grand Am. She bought the sedan for $700 for her fiance.
"He’s a little impulsive. That’s why I bid," she said. "It was pretty cool."
But for some, the bids were too high.
Jean Ramage, an antiques dealer, said the auction had valuable coins but people were bidding too much.
"I can’t sell for what they were buying here," she said.
She also noticed the gold and silver were going for double the market price.
Auctioneer Ed Tote said some may have bid higher on precious metals in anticipation of rising values.
But most of the 185 items sold were not big-ticket items, such as vehicles or jewelry, and led to deals for buyers, he said.
"I think people were just trying to get the deals," he said. "The bidding on it didn’t go as high as I thought it would, so I think everybody came today to try and get a deal."
For example, power tools sold for a third of their value, a sign that people wanted the tools for themselves, rather than as a discounted holiday gift, he said.
One of those buying for himself was Richard Uiagalelei, who bought a 1927 10 Guilder gold coin for $500.
He wanted the coin because it’s a part of his Dutch heritage and was the only coin whose price didn’t
exceed his spending limit.
"It was pretty cool," he said.
Most of the items came from the 2005 raid of Ziggy’s Pawn Gold & Diamond Buyers, a business on Kapahulu Avenue that has since closed. At the time, police said the shop dealt in stolen goods.
Kern Nishioka, asset forfeiture program manager for the attorney general, said the money raised is required by law to go back to law enforcement.
The proceeds fund the seized-assets program and are distributed among the seizing agency, the prosecutors and training grants.
Most of the jewelry from Ziggy’s hasn’t been auctioned off yet and probably will be sold at the next
auction in April, he said.
