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Accused Waialua
murderer enters
plea agreement

By Suzanne Tswei
Star-Bulletin

As part of a plea agreement, a man charged with murder in multiple slayings in 1997 will escape a mandatory life term without parole but must cooperate with city prosecutors to help them resolve the slayings and testify in court.

Edward Vidal Jr., 33, yesterday pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Oct. 24, 1997 killing of Paris France, 19, in return for a sentence giving him the possibility of parole.

Vidal admitted in court yesterday that he shot and killed France at the request of Styran Rivera, whom police had identified as a former prison guard and alleged head of a drug ring. Rivera, Vidal's brother-in-law, had entered into a similar plea agreement in January.

Vidal also pleaded guilty to first-degree hindering prosecution in the deaths of Steven Tozon, 35 and Tranquilino Bati, 27, who also were victims in "The Waialua Murders."

Vidal said he helped bury the two men's bodies in an unmarked grave, and later helped dig up the bodies to dispose of them in the ocean.

Vidal also admitted to helping kill Tozon, and pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy. Vidal said he diverted Tozon's attention by showing Tozon a crack in the frame under Tozon's truck to allow Rivera or Benjamin Tandal to shoot Tozon. Tandal is scheduled to be tried for murder next week.

Prosecutor Marcus Sierra said the state agreed to drop the second-degree murder charges against Vidal stemming from the deaths of Tozon and Bati and related hindering prosecution charges in the multiple murders. Prosecutors also agreed to drop a first-degree murder charge -- the murders of more than one person -- which carries a life term without parole.

When Vidal is sentenced Aug. 18, he will face a mandatory life term with possibility of parole for a single count of second-degree murder. The hindering prosecution charge carries a maximum five-year sentence and or a fine of $10,000, and the criminal conspiracy charges carry a maximum 20-year sentence and or a fine of $50,000.

In return for Vidal's cooperation, prosecutors agreed not to seek extended or consecutive sentences, Sierra said.

The decision to drop charges against Vidal was not solely based on the plea agreement but also due to ongoing investigation that unearthed additional information in the multiple slayings.

Rivera, Vidal and Tandal had all faced multiple murder and hindering prosecution charges. Rivera allegedly ordered the hits, and Tandal shot Tozon and Bati outside Rivera's home.

Rivera admitted to soliciting Tandal and Vidal to help him kill Tozon after he claimed Tozon had threatened him and his daughter with a gun. France was killed later to prevent him from disclosing information about the two killings.