Ex-cop admits guilt
in airport overtime fraud

Another retired officer is convicted
of theft for time card abuse

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By Debra Barayuga and Nelson Daranciang
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com | ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

A retired police sergeant formerly assigned to the Honolulu Airport division pleaded no contest yesterday to collecting pay to which he was not entitled.

James M. Duarte, 51, who retired last year after 25 years with the Honolulu Police Department, was then found guilty of second-degree theft.

Duarte, who served as an administrative sergeant while at the airport, is the second police official charged this month in an investigation that stemmed from excessive overtime costs incurred at Honolulu Airport.

Retired Lt. Felito Laboy also pleaded no contest last week to identical charges.

The charges filed against the two ends the state's investigation into time card abuse at the airport. No other charges are expected to be filed.

Duarte admitted to taking $9,692 in wages he was not entitled to after he failed to show up for work on eight days and reported to work late on 93 occasions between Feb. 16, 1999, and July 28, 1999. He worked the 5:30 a.m.-to-2:15 p.m. shift with Laboy.

Duarte, who will be sentenced Dec. 7, faces either probation or a deferral of his no-contest plea, in which case he could wipe the conviction off his record.

As with Laboy, the state has agreed not to ask that Duarte be sentenced to jail.

Their pleas may wind up costing Duarte and Laboy some of their retirement pay.

If the thefts occurred during one of the "high three" years used to calculate their state pensions, the two retired police officers could also see their retirement pay reduced. They could also be asked to reimburse the state Employees' Retirement System any amount they may have been overpaid.

Officials use the pay from an employee's highest-paid three years in computing the employee's retirement payment.

"We would check to see if that was during the high three. We would then recalculate (their pensions)," said David Shimabukuro, ERS administrator.

At the time of the thefts, Duarte and Laboy worked at the HPD Airport Division under contract with the state Department of Transportation. When the Transportation Department terminated its contract with HPD in 1999 and replaced the police officers with deputy sheriffs, one of the reasons it gave for ending the more-than-20-year arrangement was the high amount of overtime it was forced to pay officers assigned to the Airport Division. The state expressed concern that the high overtime payments were going to only a few officers who were using them to boost their high-three salaries for pension benefits.

"Some of these guys have pensions in the six figures," said Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young.

Young said that based on the facts of the case and the savings to the state with Duarte pleading to the charges, jail was not considered a necessity.

"The bottom line here is that they made admissions they did something wrong, and we're going to be made whole by restitution in these matters," Young said.

Duarte will be ordered to pay full restitution of $9,692 -- with at least $4,000 due at sentencing -- and the balance to be paid within two years.

He will also be ordered to complete 250 hours of community service.

Duarte and his attorney, Samuel King Jr., declined comment.