Two indicted
in burning of film
industry trucks

Joseph Tavares Jr. and
George Cambra face charges
of torching rivals' vehicles

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Two central figures involved in a dispute between rival factions vying for film-making project jobs have been charged with the 1991 torching of competitors' vehicles.

A federal grand jury yesterday indicted Joseph "Joe Boy" Tavares Jr., 42, and George Edward Cambra, 52, for setting fires on June 10, 1991, that caused $241,500 in damage to production vehicles owned by Mokulua Consultants Inc. and Auto Mastics Inc.

The indictments represent a break in investigations into a series of violent incidents during 1991-94 that stemmed from infighting that pitted a Teamsters faction aligned with Tavares against then-local union president Harold DeCosta and Los Angeles Local 399 secretary-treasurer Leo Reed.

According to yesterday's indictment, the dispute centered on who would drive the trucks rented by California-based movie and television production companies when they filmed in Hawaii.

The indictment states that Cambra, president of George Cambra Movie Production Trucks Inc., and Tavares were aligned while two other local companies -- Mokulua Consultants and Auto Mastics -- were associated with their rival group.

In 1991, California producers of a television pilot called "The Raven" hired Mokulua Consultants and Auto Mastics to provide trucks for filming in Hawaii.

The indictment says that in December 1990 or January 1991, Tavares and Cambra conspired to burn their competitors' trucks. Cambra agreed to pay Tavares 10 percent of his future gross earnings to burn the trucks, says the indictment.

It is alleged that on June 10, 1991, Tavares and an unidentified accomplice used gasoline and diesel fuel provided by Cambra and set fire to two trucks and two trailers owned by Mokulua Consultants at a Leokane Street site in Waipahu.

The indictment adds that Tavares and the man then went to 611 Middle St. and set fire to a tractor and trailer owned by Auto Mastics.

As partial payment for setting the two fires, Tavares received $500 checks from Cambra's company in January and February of 1992 and $500 cash the following month, the indictment says.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg said the fires forced Auto Mastics out of business and contributed to Mokulua's 1997 shutdown.There's a 10-year statute of limitations for arson cases, said Steven Alm, U.S. attorney for the district of Hawaii.

Tavares is scheduled to appear today before a federal magistrate while Cambra's appearance will be tomorrow. If convicted of setting the fires, Tavares could be sentenced up to 10 years in prison without parole for each of two counts. Each defendant faces up to five years imprisonment without parole if convicted of conspiracy.