The city Ethics Commission said it has fined former Deputy Parks Director Albert Tufono $2,000 for using his position to obtain preferential treatment from other parks employees, even after he was warned to stop.

An Ethics Commission advisory opinion said that on at least 10 occasions over a one-year period in 2011-2012, Tufono sent emails to Parks Department recreation directors seeking permits to reserve city gyms and ballfields for teams and leagues that he coached, teams his sons played on and a hula halau in which his daughter was a student.

Tufono was successful in obtaining reservations for fields and gyms "in most cases," the commission said in a news release Monday.

In one instance, the commission said, Tufono bypassed the Parks Department chain of command and asked a parks maintenance employee, a personal friend, to dump dirt for grooming a baseball diamond that his son’s team was to play on.

The commission said it investigated Tufono after receiving complaints.

Tufono could not be reached for comment Monday.

The news release said Tufono continued to request field and gym assignments for his personal benefit even though he was "warned against such misconduct" by a Parks Department staff member, a deputy corporation counsel and Parks Director Gary Cabato.

"Because he was the deputy director, he had a captive audience of parks employees who had to follow his requests, while members of the public had no such advantage," the release said.

In determining Tufono’s fine, the release said, the commission noted that Tufono continued to make requests for park and gym reservations even after being warned it was prohibited. "Thus the commission concludes that Mr. Tufono’s misconduct was intentional," the release said.

Tufono served as deputy parks director throughout former Mayor Peter Carlisle’s term and served as acting parks director during the first two months of 2013 until Toni Robinson was selected by Mayor Kirk Caldwell and confirmed by the City Council.

Before joining the city, Tufono spent 10 years as chairman of the Hawaii Paroling Authority. Prior to that, he was a corrections programs specialist with the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility. He was a star athlete at ‘Iolani School in the 1980s.