Realtor pleads guilty to stealing more than $200K from trust
A Honolulu Realtor admitted in federal court Wednesday to stealing more than $200,000 from a trust for which he worked as a bookkeeper.
Scott S. Kamiya pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud for forging the endorsement of a trust-authorized representative on a $19,046 check and depositing the money into the account of one of his own companies.
Kamiya also admits in his plea agreement that between 2005 and 2009 he forged other endorsements, altered checks to make them payable to him or his companies and used online bank services to have the trust pay the expenses of his businesses. During that time Kamiya operated two business entities, Fulfillment Werks and Postage Partners Hawaii Inc. He has also agreed to repay the trust $243,473.
Foundation gives city police $25,000 to buy 17 Taser guns
The Honolulu Police Department received a $25,000 grant Thursday from the nonprofit Honolulu Police Community Foundation to buy 17 new electric guns, or Tasers.
The department has 609 electric guns in its current arsenal, 77 of which were bought by the foundation. Chief Louis Kealoha said the goal is to eventually arm each of the department’s 2,000 officers with a Taser.
The instrument allows officers the option of using a less lethal weapon.
The foundation supports police programs and offers scholarships. Besides Tasers, the organization has also bought electronic defibrillators for officers.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Waimea collision kills man, 25, injures passenger
WAIMEA » A 25-year-old Waimea man died Wednesday from injuries suffered in a two-vehicle crash on Kawaihae Road half a mile west of the 63-mile marker in Waimea.
Police identified the driver as Isaiah Lindsey.
South Kohala police said Lindsey was driving a 1988 Ford multipurpose vehicle at 5:44 p.m., traveling east on Kawaihae Road, when he crossed the center line and collided with a 2010 Toyota pickup truck traveling west. The driver of the pickup was a 27-year-old Waimea woman.
Both drivers and a passenger in the Ford, a 31-year-old Waimea woman, were taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital.
Lindsey was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. The female passenger was in serious condition. The driver of the Toyota was treated and released.
County traffic investigators have begun a negligent-homicide investigation.
This is the 15th traffic fatality in Hawaii County this year compared with 18 at this time last year.
Lihue site chosen for drug treatment facility for youths
LIHUE » Kauai officials have selected a site for a youth drug treatment center.
The Garden Island newspaper reported Thursday that after years of discord about the residential drug treatment center, the county has chosen a Lihue neighborhood site near Isenberg Park.
More than 300 community members attended a meeting Tuesday to discuss the issue. Some residents questioned the decision to put the center in a neighborhood instead of a remote location.
