Jervis ‘deeply sorry,’
will be in recovery

Trustee's ouster hearing
is put off with his
expected 30-day absence

By Rick Daysog
Star-Bulletin

Bishop Estate trustee Gerard Jervis apologized today to the Kamehameha ohana for causing the latest scandal to rock the estate and the trust-run Kamehameha Schools.

Jervis was discharged from Castle Medical Center last night and is resting at his Kailua home under his doctors' supervision.

In his first public statements since he took a near-fatal overdose of sleeping pills almost two weeks ago, Jervis said he expects to be held accountable for his recent actions and said he was sorry for the "personal disappointment" that he brought to students, faculty members and alumni of the Kapalama Heights campus.

"As I leave the hospital, I am very mindful of, and deeply sorry for, the mistakes I have made," Jervis said.

"I do not know what the future may bring. But I have always believed that I should be held accountable for all the good and bad that I do."

Jervis, 50, took an overdose of sleeping pills on March 11, the week after an estate lawyer, Rene Ojiri Kitaoka, committed suicide. The day before her death, a security guard at the Hawaii Prince Hotel had found Jervis and Kitaoka in a compromising position in a hotel men's room.

Jervis, who previously apologized to Kitaoka's family, also thanked his wife, Avis, family members and friends who lent their support. He asked that he and his neighbors be granted privacy as he recuperates.

Jervis made his statements in a prepared news release and was not available for questions. His doctor, Kailua psychiatrist Winifred Simmons, said he was not ready to grant interviews or make a public appearance, Jervis' lawyer Ronald Sakamoto said.

Yesterday, Sakamoto filed an affidavit and a brief medical note in state Probate Court, saying the trustee will not be ready to take part in "legal matters pertaining to his removal" for about a month.

Simmons' note, dated March 19, did not describe Jervis' condition but said his situation is expected to continue for the next 30 days. The doctor said she will re-evaluate Jervis after that period.

Probate Judge Kevin Chang had agreed Friday to postpone a March 29 hearing on Attorney General Margery Bronster's request to remove Jervis on an interim basis. Chang has scheduled an April 6 conference to reset the hearing.

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Kamehameha group
petitions for 4
trustees’ removal

By Rick Daysog
Star-Bulletin

An organization representing 3,200 alumni, parents and students of the Kamehameha Schools today asked the Probate Court to temporarily remove four of the five trustees of Bishop Estate.

Na Pua a Ke Ali'i Pauahi said the trustees -- Richard "Dickie" Wong, Henry Peters, Lokelani Lindsey and Gerard Jervis -- have created so much harm to the trust and the estate-run Kamehameha Schools that they need to be removed immediately to prevent further damage.

Na Pua charged that the four trustees are preoccupied with defending their own interests, making them incapable of doing their proper jobs for the trust.

"It is extremely likely that the trust decisions made by these individuals would be motivated by self-preservation rather than the best interests of the trust and its beneficiaries," the group said.

An estate spokesman could not be reached for immediate comment this morning.

Na Pua's petition, filed by the law firm of Love Yamamoto & Motooka, is in support of Attorney General Margery Bronster's petition to remove at least four of the five trustees on an interim basis.

Bronster is seeking the temporary removal of the trustees on the grounds that they would bring further harm to the trust.

She has alleged that four trustees mismanaged Kamehameha Schools, jeopardized the trust's tax-exempt status and withheld $350 million in estate income that should have been spent on the school.

All four have denied the charges.

Bronster's suit is scheduled for a hearing on March 29 before Probate Judge Colleen Hirai, but only two trustees will be the subject of that proceeding.

Last week, Probate Judge Kevin Chang postponed a hearing for Jervis, who is recuperating from an overdose from sleeping pills, and removed Lindsey from Bronster's temporary removal suit.

Lindsey is now in the midst of a separate removal suit by Jervis and trustee Oswald Stender.

Circuit Judge Bambi Weil will likely rule on that four-month trial within the next two months.

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