Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth is evaluating whether there are grounds for criminal charges against Mayor Billy Kenoi stemming from allegations of unauthorized use of his county credit card, state Attorney General Douglas Chin said Thursday.
Chin said he and Roth have been in talks regarding the matter.
"Our office offered support either through our investigators or through our resources in handling this kind of allegation," he said.
Kenoi admitted using his county-issued purchasing card, known as a pCard, which had a $10,000 credit limit, on such personal purchases as an $892 tab at a Honolulu hostess bar, a surfboard and a bicycle.
But the mayor, who practiced law before taking office, maintains he thought the purchases were OK because he reimbursed any personal expenses monthly.
However, Kenoi failed to immediately reimburse the county for the $892 charge incurred in December 2013 at Club Evergreen. It wasn’t until three months later, on March 28, 2014, that he made reimbursement for the hostess bar tab and 24 other charges.
West Hawaii Today had requested copies of pCard statements from 2010 as a way to monitor the mayor’s travel and spending on the taxpayer’s dime, and the county produced the documents for the newspaper Tuesday.
The mayor made a $7,500 payment as recently as Tuesday to clear up what he said were possible questionable charges. The total he paid back to the county for both personal and county business charges plus interest came to $26,000. Roughly half that amount was used for personal expenses, he said.
On Thursday the county turned over pCard statements from 2009 to 2015 to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in response to a Hawaii Opens Records Law request.
Chin said a common element in criminal charges involving a credit card is the person’s intent to defraud and what was his or her state of mind.
"Even if it doesn’t touch upon criminal behavior," the question of whether certain rules or policies weren’t followed arises, he said. This raises the question of whether administrative discipline or administrative penalty should follow, he said.
The county charter might allow for the County Council or the ethics board to question, investigate or allow for impeachment, Chin said.
He extended the offer to help the county prosecutor in case there are any conflicts of interest. He said his office also has experience with investigating that type of credit card activity.
Chin said he also offered to help in case an investigation "went any deeper than just the mayor’s involvement."
Under county and state rules, the pCard is strictly for official government business and is not to be used for personal use.
On Dec. 3, 2008, two days after taking office, Kenoi requested a purchasing card with a credit limit of $10,000, which was approved Dec. 30, 2008, by the finance director.
He said he has no personal credit card, and has charged a total of $129,000 on the card. Of that, $103,000 was for travel expenses for official county business since he took office.
Kenoi said his only punishment should be to have the card taken away, and told reporters Wednesday he has relinquished the card.
Except for Hawaii County Councilwoman Margaret Wille, who says the mayor should not be above the law and must be accountable, Council members have been silent on the mayor’s violation of the rules governing the use of the credit card.
Wille and Aaron Chung were the only Council members who responded to calls for comment from the Star-Advertiser.
Chung said he would not pursue the matter since the mayor has paid back any amounts he owed.
