Bank executive admits
to possessing child
pornography
A former top executive at Bank of Hawaii, who also served as Central Pacific Bank's chief investment officer, has pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing child pornography downloaded from the Internet.
David G. Zerfoss, 57, is set to be sentenced Jan. 18 and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Zerfoss told the court Wednesday that he had knowingly downloaded and saved child pornography on his computer hard drive.
According to court documents, Zerfoss also bought access to several members-only Web sites that contained naked photos of minors. Zerfoss did not return calls to his home for comment yesterday.
In a December search of Zerfoss's home, federal and state agents found a computer that contained 13 movies and 19 photos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo in a statement released yesterday.
Some of the youths were under 12, Kubo said.
Zerfoss was Bank of Hawaii's chief investment officer for 34 years before stepping down in February 2003.
Before leaving, Zerfoss was overseeing $7 billion in assets and co-managing the Pacific Capital Value Fund.
In June, Central Pacific Bank brought Zerfoss out of retirement. The Honolulu resident served as the bank's senior vice president and head of its investment department for eight months before retiring for a second time in February.
Zerfoss cited personal reasons for leaving Central Pacific, saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife.
Spokesmen for Central Pacific and Bank of Hawaii declined to comment yesterday.
The U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI investigated the case, along with agents with the attorney general's office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong is prosecuting the case.