HILO >> Investigators from the state Attorney General's Office served a search warrant on Memorial Mortuary yesterday, responding to an allegation that the mortuary improperly handled burials. State investigates claim
of Hilo casket recyclingMortuary owner Robert Diego said five investigators took funeral, embalming and financial records, among other documents, during a daylong investigation. "They were very pleasant," he said.
Attorney General chief investigator Donald Wong said his office is investigating possible charges of theft regarding removal of the coffins, operating a mortuary without a license, and selling funeral plans without a license.
Diego said no license is needed for a mortuary. He said an embalming license is needed, and he has one. He also said Memorial Mortuary used to sell funeral plans but no longer sells them. Instead, a licensed insurance agent sells funeral plans, working out of his office, he said.
Wong said the probe has just started, and there is no way to know how long it will take.
Diego said the investigation focused on an allegation that for a period of 10 years, he buried bodies during the day, then dug them up at night, retrieved caskets for reuse and dumped the bodies back into the graves. He denied it.
The allegations were brought by Lucille Mossman, a woman with whom he had a relationship resulting in the birth of a child six years ago, Diego said.
Mossman denied making the complaint to state officials. "I never said any kind of atrocious thing like that," she said.
A 28-year-old man who played a part in the kidnapping and brutal slaying of a taxi cab owner in April 1999 was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Cabbie's murder
brings life termEdward Wallace Martin was convicted of second-degree murder and kidnapping of Paul Salazar. Martin will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years because he testified against Keith Murauskas, whom Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter called the ringleader of the crime.
Murauskas faces a mandatory life term without parole when sentenced April 10 for first-degree murder and kidnapping of Salazar and the attempted murder of Salazar's wife, Virginia.
Murauskas and Martin used a sledgehammer and a knife to murder Salazar.
Property in Kahaluu gets condemnation approval
The City Council has given the go-ahead for the condemnation of three small parcels in Kahaluu owned by Gensiro Kawamoto to give neighbors of the Japanese billionaire a clear path to their homes.On Christmas Eve, Kawamoto ordered workers to remove a driveway off Hunaahi Street that led to the driveways of two homes owned by the Schade and Murakami families, and put up a "no trespassing sign" that blocked the path.
The neighbors and the city had believed for years that the roadway was public. But they recently discovered that the landowner who preceded Kawamoto failed to convey the property as promised when plans for a new subdivision were scrapped.
Interim director named for state arts foundation
The board overseeing the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts yesterday named Ron Yamakawa, manager of the foundation's Art in Public Places program, as the agency's interim executive director.Yamakawa, who has served previous stints as interim director, succeeds David Farmer, who was fired yesterday after the board expressed a lack of confidence in his performance.
Farmer, who took over management of the foundation in March, protested that the board talked about his termination behind closed doors.
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>> Siaosi Manutulila beat Anthony Sanza in a Feb. 5 boxing match. Boxing results on Page B7 Friday incorrectly said Sanza was the winner and incorrectly spelled his name as Souza. Corrections and clarifications
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffNEIGHBOR ISLANDS Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Family members find body of Maui man, 33
WAILUKU >> The body of a Maui man was discovered near noon yesterday in a rocky area in Maliko Bay.Two family members who were conducting a search found Wilmar Cablay's body partially submerged in a rocky shoreline hole, authorities said.
Cablay, 33, of Haiku, had gone opihi picking and was last seen at 8:30 a.m. Monday by his brother, authorities said.
An air, land and sea search began after he was reported missing at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The search resumed yesterday at first light and continued until the body was found.
WAIKIKI
CrimeStoppers and cops seek help in arson case
CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department are asking for the public's help in solving an arson yesterday in Waikiki. Police said someone set a van on fire in a hotel basement parking lot at 2330 Kuhio Ave.
Police said the fire appeared to have been maliciously set. Police found three other vehicles in the lot that were also damaged by fire.
Police said surveillance camera video showed a possible male suspect entering the lot. A witness later reported having contact with the suspect prior to the fire and provided a description.
The suspect is described as in his early 30s, 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches, 140 pounds, with a slim build, wavy brown neck-length hair, brown eyes, a tan complexion and an unshaven and unwashed appearance. He was last seen wearing a burgundy two-tone short-sleeve T-shirt, dark gray cargo shorts and black wrestling-type shoes. Anyone with information may contact Detective Robert Cravalho at 529-3873 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
CENTRAL OAHU
Man and woman arrested in assault of 4-year-old
A 37-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were arrested for alleged first-degree assault after they took a 4-year-old girl to Wahiawa General Hospital Tuesday for treatment of a head injury.Hospitals officials called police after they discovered older injuries on the girl.
Police seek information on severe beating case
Honolulu police are asking for the public's assistance in an attempted-murder case that took place in Wahiawa on Feb. 11. Police said Mark Mehr, 43, was assaulted in front of an apartment building at 329 California Ave. before 9:23 p.m.Since the attack, Mehr has been in critical condition at Queen's Medical Center. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches, 175 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with any information about this case is asked to call Detective Ted Coons at 529-3053 or Detective Larry Tamashiro at 529-3083.
WINDWARD OAHU
Youth facility inmate, 18, arrested in alleged assault
An 18-year-old inmate at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility was arrested for allegedly assaulting two youth correctional officers yesterday.The officers told police the inmate was being disruptive so they ordered him to return to his cell to cool down. He refused and in an ensuing confrontation he allegedly punched the officers and hit them with a plastic shampoo bottle, police said.
Motorcycle victim ID'd as Waimanalo woman, 47
The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified the woman who died in a collision between a motorcycle and a car on Kaukonahua Road Saturday as Jacqui Blahak, 47, of Waimanalo.Police said Blahak was in a group of other motorcycle riders heading toward Waialua when she may have crossed the center line and collided head-on with a car traveling in the opposite direction.
Blahak was pronounced dead at the scene.
The occupants of the car received minor injuries.
NORTH SHORE
Mokuleia Beach dweller held in tourist robbery
A 22-year-old man was arrested yesterday in connection with the robbery of a Japanese tourist earlier this month, and for a firearm violation after a loaded handgun was found during his arrest, police said.The robbery occurred on Feb. 12 at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park.
The 41-year-old victim was attacked after he confronted a man breaking into his car, police said.
Through their investigation police identified the suspect and found him and his 22-year-old girlfriend living at Mokuleia Beach.
The man and the woman were also arrested for a firearm violation after officers found a loaded handgun on blankets being used by the couple as bedding, police said.
