Lawyer resigns bar; allegations sealed
Glenn H. Kobayashi has resigned from the practice of law in lieu of disciplinary action by the Hawaii Supreme Court Disciplinary Board.Court rules provide that allegations against an attorney, which were being investigated by the Disciplinary Board remain confidential when there is a resignation.
Kobayashi, who was admitted to the Hawaii Bar in 1989, may no longer practice law here, according to the high court announcement.
Food stamp defendant may get probation
A woman who was the first of 23 defendants to plead guilty to her role in an alleged $1.2 million Chinatown food-stamp conspiracy may be eligible for probation.Kommaly Gordon, 42, yesterday admitted that she redeemed more than $100 in food stamps beginning last July from a man who didn't qualify for them.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Omer Poirier said the federal government has no evidence that she received any profit from them and that she had a limited role in the conspiracy.
He said the government may ask for less time for her, based on her cooperation. She faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, but also could be eligible for probation.
U.S. District Judge Alan Kay set sentencing for Dec. 21. He also allowed Gordon to remain free on a $25,000 signature bond.
Man guilty of murder, murder-for-hire plot
WAILUKU -- A Maui man was convicted yesterday of murder and also trying to hire a prison inmate to kill a key witness.Gordon Cordeiro, 24, of Pukalani is scheduled to be sentenced before Maui Circuit Judge Boyd Mossman on Oct. 19.
During the trial, Cordeiro denied he shot Timothy Blaisdell near a roadside in Kula on Aug. 11, 1994, and also denied he hired three different prison inmates to kill eyewitness Michael Freitas.
Blaisdell, 20, of Makawao was found shot in the head and his body was covered with trash near Lower Kula Road. Freitas testified Cordeiro was in a truck when he shot Blaisdell, who was standing outside near the door.
Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Jenkins said according to an expert, residue found inside the truck indicated a gun could have been fired inside it.
Relatives and friends of Cordeiro said he was working on a vehicle in his parents garage on the day of the shooting.
Cordeiro was found guilty of attempting to hire prison inmate John Iona to kill Freitas.
But the jury did not find him guilty of attempting to hire William Cornelio and Nedric Kapika to kill Freitas.
Victim of fatal stabbing identified as Kihei man
WAILUKU -- The man who was stabbed to death after allegedly breaking into an apartment in south Maui has been identified as Alec Tabilangan, 41, of Kihei.Assistant Police Chief Glen Nakashima said Tabilangan broke into the Kihei apartment through the sliding glass door on a balcony and was stabbed by a 44-year-old man who lived there at about 1:20 a.m. yesterday.
UH-Manoa gives good value, says Kiplinger
You get your money's worth at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.That's according to the September issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, which says UH-Manoa is one of the nation's top 100 values in state universities.
UH-Manoa was ranked 44th among the top 100 institutions.
The article, titled "Go Public: State Universities to Cheer About," says a "high-caliber college education can be affordable, too."
The editors narrowed a list of 588 public colleges to 200 based on SAT scores of last fall's freshmen. The 200 finalists were then graded for quality, including graduation rates, percentage of freshmen who return, SAT scores and admission rates, computer and library resources, and financial factors.
Kiyosaki leaves Big Island for Oahu post
Donna Kiyosaki is leaving her post as chief engineer for Hawaii County to become deputy manager of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.New Honolulu Water Manager Cliff Jamile made the announcement yesterday.
Kawananakoa challenged on same-sex
The congressional campaign of state House Republican leader Quentin Kawananakoa is on hold. At least for this week. He's sick.Meanwhile, state Rep. Gene Ward, who's also seeking the GOP congressional nomination, has challenged both Kawananakoa and Democratic incumbent Neil Abercrombie to a debate on same-sex marriage.
"Abercrombie and Kawananakoa must be called out of the closet so the voters can know exactly where they stand on preserving and encouraging traditional marriage," said Ward, who opposes legalized gay marriages.
Kawananakoa campaign spokesman Todd Shigekane said his boss suffered from a strep throat that turned into "walking pneumonia."
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffBig Island raid yields crystal meth, 5 arrests
HILO -- Hawaii County Police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have closed down a home laboratory that was producing crystal methamphetamine, they announced.They also raided a second house where ingredients for methamphetamine production were found.
Acting on a federal search warrant, law enforcement personnel Wednesday raided a house at 1261 Haihai St. where they found a facility they described as a "fully functional Ephedrine-reduction meth lab."
Four men, 22 to 42, and a woman, 19, were arrested in the raid. Three 14-year-olds and two 15-year-olds were also present at the time but were not arrested.
During the raid, agents recovered chemicals that are used as ingredients in the production of crystal methamphetamine. The mixture of chemicals at the house was considered hazardous material and posed a danger, they said. Agents recovered four ounces of methamphetamine.
More teens charged in fatal stabbing at park
Two Waianae teen-agers were charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 1 stabbing death of a homeless man at a Pearl City park.The youths, and a Waipahu teen who was charged earlier, are being held at the Juvenile Detention Facility. All three are 17 years old. Their names have not been released because they are juveniles.
A fourth youth, 18, was arrested Friday and released pending further investigation.
A Family Court judge is expected to rule whether they be tried as juveniles or bound over to Circuit Court for trial as adults.
Police said Alton J. Anderson, 23, was fatally stabbed in the Neal Blaisdell Park restroom during an argument with a group of people. Police said Anderson apparently lived in the park.
In other news...
A robber who held up the Ala Moana branch of Bank of Hawaii yesterday left his loot behind in the taxi he caught to flee the scene.
The midday robbery was the second bank holdup in a two-hour period, and the third since Saturday.
Shawn Magallanes, 31, was being held this morning in lieu of $30,000 bail. Magallanes was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, kidnapping, second-degree criminal property damage, and a firearms violation.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.
