Verdicts sealed
in Big Isle police
corruption case

By Rod Thompson
Big Island correspondent

HILO -- Jurors have reached verdicts in the lawsuit which pitted 19 current and former Big Island police officers against the current police chief and former deputy chief over alleged corruption.

But the 19 verdict forms have been sealed until next Monday, when Circuit Judge Riki May Amano returns from a conference in Washington, D.C.

The case involves allegations that Chief Wayne Carvalho, who was deputy chief in the 1980s, and former Deputy Chief Francis DeMorales, who was an inspector at that time, helped favored officers cheat on oral exams used in the promotion process.

Those two sued former Chief Guy A. Paul, saying they were following his orders.

Carvalho testified he told DeMorales whom Paul wanted promoted, and DeMorales testified he gave preferred candidates questions and answers, thinking he was under orders to help them.

Defense lawyers said their actions were irrelevant because the oral exams were used as advice only. Paul had the legal right to make the final selection of any candidate from a preselected list, they said.

After seven weeks of testimony, the jury began deliberations Dec. 1.

When they hadn't finished their work last week, Amano did not tell jurors she was going to a conference this week, but left written instructions in case a verdict came in.

Yesterday, jurors told a court clerk they were finished. After consulting with Amano by phone, the clerk determined that all jurors had filled out 19 verdict forms, one for each plaintiff.

Amano's written instructions told the jurors to seal their forms in envelopes, give them to the clerk, and return Monday, when the verdicts will be read at 1:30 p.m.