Bar tab, bike not covered by indictment

The state indictment charging Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi with theft and lying about purchases he made with his county-issued credit card does not include any of the more egregious allegations, including that he used the card to pay Honolulu hostess bar tabs, to buy a surfboard and bicycle or to pay his state lawyer association dues, according to an analysis of the credit card statements.

The indictment charges Kenoi with one count of felony theft for purchases he made between May 11 and Oct. 20, 2011; another felony theft count for purchases between Jan. 17 and June 28, 2013; and with misdemeanor theft counts for purchases made on June 30 and Nov. 16, 2014.

It also charges Kenoi with misdemeanor tampering with a government record for lying about his stated reasons for purchases he made Oct. 20, 2011, March 17, 2013, and June 30, 2014. Kenoi also faces a petty misdemeanor false-swearing charge for allegedly making a false statement under oath on Feb. 15, 2015.

Kenoi pleaded not guilty last week.

The indictment does not say for which purchases Kenoi is charged. However, the bar tab and dues payments and purchases for the surfboard and bicycle were not made on any of the above dates, according to the credit card statements the county released in March 2015.

Kenoi used his county credit card to pay a $400 tab at Camelot Restaurant &Lounge on Sept. 23, 2009; buy a surfboard for $1,219 at Hawaiian South Shore on Oahu on Oct. 29, 2011; pay the Hawaii State Bar Association $566 on Jan. 1, 2013; pay an $892 tab at Evergreen Restaurant &Lounge on Dec. 4, 2013; and purchase a bicycle and accessories for $1,889 at Bike Works in Kailua-Kona on March 19 and 25, 2014.

Camelot canceled the $400 charge one day later, and Bike Works credited back to the county the amount of the bicycle purchases in April 2014. And according to other documents the county released last year, Kenoi repaid the county for the surfboard in December 2011 and the HSBA dues and Evergreen tab in March 2014.

State Attorney General Douglas Chin is not saying for which purchases the indictment refers, only that details about the charges will be described in documents filed with the court or discussed at trial.

The credit card statements show that on May 12 Kenoi used his card to pay a $422 bill at Sansei Seafood Restaurant in Waikoloa. That was the second day of the five-day 2011 Big Island Film Festival at the nearby Fairmont Orchid hotel and Shops at Mauna Lani.

On Oct. 20, 2011, the last day associated with one of the theft charges, Kenoi paid a $320 bill at the Hilo Yacht Club. One of the tampering charges accuses Kenoi of lying when he said it was for an office strategic planning luncheon.

When Kenoi repaid the county in March 2012 for the two bills, he listed the Sansei charge as “Dinner for staff/volunteers” at the film festival and the Hilo Yacht Club charge as “Lunch meeting.”

Kenoi used his county credit card on Jan. 17, 2013, the first day of the other felony theft charge, to pay a $170 bill at Clyde’s Gallery Place restaurant in Washington, D.C., and again on Jan. 18 to pay a $600 bill. He was in the nation’s capital to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting Jan. 17-19.

Another tampering charge accuses him of lying when he said he made a $125.95 purchase on March 17, 2013, at a Longs Drugs store in Kailua-Kona for a Sam Choy’s Poke Contest volunteer appreciation event. Kenoi also paid a $300 bill on June 28, 2013, the last day for the theft charge, at Tsukeneya Robata Grill restaurant in Honolulu.

According to county documents, Kenoi paid back the Longs purchase in May 2014 and the Clyde’s and Tsukeneya restaurant charges in March 2015.

The felony charges against Kenoi entail second-degree theft involving property or services worth more than $300. Each charge could involve other purchases within the date range specified, as long as the total value per charge is not greater than $20,000.

The misdemeanor theft charges are for expenditures between $100 and $300.

Kenoi used his credit card to pay a $200 bill at the Volcano House restaurant on June 30, 2014. He also used the credit card to pay a $170 tab at Tommy Bahama Restaurant in Mauna Lani on Nov. 16, 2014, the first day of the four-day 2014 Financial &Insurance Conference Planners annual conference at Hilton Waikoloa Village.

The third tampering charge accuses him of lying when he said the Volcano House restaurant bill was for U.S. Conference of Mayors visitors.

Kenoi’s lawyers declined to comment on what purchases might be covered by the indictment. Attorney Todd Eddins has said, however, that Kenoi did not hide any of the purchases he made using his county credit card and that each charge served a county purpose or was described as an expense to be reimbursed.