Maui man
apologizes for
stealing harbor fees

The former Lahaina Harbor
agent receives a
1-year jail sentence

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU >> A former Lahaina Harbor agent was sentenced yesterday to one year in jail for cheating the state out of more than $40,000 in revenues.

Gerald Lum, 47, of Kihei said he made a mistake, was ashamed for what he did and apologized for taking the money.

Judge Shackley Raffetto also sentenced Lum to five years of probation and ordered him to pay restitution of more than $40,800 to the state.

Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young said other people may be charged in the future in the thefts.

Young said the sentence sends a message that the public trust should not be violated.

"I thought it was a fair sentence," Young said. "I think the one year in jail probably shows the defendant the seriousness of the offenses."

Lum pleaded guilty on May 15 to four counts of second-degree theft and a misdemeanor charge of tampering with government records.

Young said from early 1996 until he was caught earlier this year, Lum pocketed some of the harbor rental fees -- an amount that eventually totaled more than $30,450. Lum also allowed boaters to stay in the harbor without charging any fees, resulting in a loss in revenues of more than $10,300.

The prosecution alleged Lum registered a boat that never existed to allow a boat owner to put another boat in the harbor.

A conviction for second-degree theft carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The maximum penalty for misdemeanor tampering with government records is a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.