WCCC warden resumed post after end of investigation

Question: Whatever happened to Women’s Community Correctional Center warden Mark Patterson, who was placed on administrative leave in August because of an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office?

Answer: Patterson returned to his post as warden on Jan. 25 after the Attorney General’s Office completed its investigation and didn’t find any criminal wrongdoing, said Toni Schwartz, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety.

Joshua Wisch, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said he could not confirm there was an investigation of Patterson because the office does not want to taint the target of an investigation if no charges were filed.

“The only way that I could ever tell you anything would be if some kind of public charge has eventually been filed,” Wisch said.

The Public Safety Department, however, is still conducting its own internal investigation stemming from the same complaint, which could not be disclosed because the investigation was still open, Schwartz said.

Patterson was placed on leave on Aug. 12, and officials declined to say whether the leave was paid or unpaid. He was brought back four months later to work on other assignments as the investigation continued and returned as warden last month, Schwartz said.

Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, said Patterson had been working at Public Safety’s main office before returning to his post at the prison. Espero (D, Ewa-Honouliuli-Ewa Beach) said he didn’t know why Patterson was placed on leave, but would check with the department now that the criminal investigation has ended.

Patterson declined to comment, citing the ongoing administrative probe.

Patterson became chief of security at WCCC in 2006 after the acting warden and six other prison staff members were placed on leave during an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office. According to media reports at the time, the prison security chief, Malcolm Lee Sr., said all employees were cleared in criminal investigations. He said the investigation was based on “an outright lie” about items being taken from the prison, such as air conditioners and plywood.

The prison at 42-477 Kamehameha Highway in Kailua was improved after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in 1984, citing overcrowding and inadequate safety. The case was dismissed in 1997 in part because the facility was expanded.

WCCC currently houses about 230 inmates, but has a capacity of 260.

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This update was written by Rob Shikina. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.