LIHUE >> Gary Baldwin, head of the Kauai Economic Development Board, was expected to be back on Kauai today, after pleading innocent to 16-year-old theft and fraud charges yesterday in Phoenix. High-profile Kauai
citizen back in isles after
innocent plea in PhoenixBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.comMaricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Galati allowed Baldwin to remain free on the $274,000 bail he had posted in Hawaii and allowed him to return to Kauai. Baldwin's next court appearance, a pretrial conference, is scheduled for Oct. 30.
Baldwin, a prominent Kauai citizen, was arrested by FBI agents at his home on July 22 on a fugitive warrant.
He was indicted in 1986 by a grand jury in Arizona on four felony counts of theft and one felony charge of fraud for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from Dr. David Dulaney, a Phoenix eye surgeon.
Details of the theft have not been made public, but the case involves the 1984 sale of an executive jet to Dulaney by Baldwin, who at the time was running an airplane leasing company in Boulder, Colo.
After arresting Baldwin, the FBI never filed charges against him. He was immediately turned over to the Honolulu Police Department and later freed on bail.
The FBI arrested Baldwin on the basis of information provided by Arthur Jackson of Atlanta. Jackson, who described himself as an elections consultant and licensed private investigator and a friend of Dulaney's, said he tracked Baldwin to Kauai by using computer records.
In a memorandum filed in Maricopa County Superior Court yesterday, Baldwin's attorney, Michael Kimerer, denied Baldwin fled to avoid being prosecuted. He said the indictment, which was sealed, was handed down by the grand jury a year and a half after Baldwin moved to Hawaii in early 1985.
"He was unaware of the charges until his arrest in Hawaii on July 22, 2002," Kimerer said. "He has never made any effort to hide his whereabouts."
Kimerer also denied allegations Baldwin changed his birthdate and Social Security number as alleged by Jackson. He said the only record of an incorrect birthdate and Social Security number are in the FBI warrant itself.
Baldwin has been one of Kauai's most visible public figures for more than a decade. He is a close ally of U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye and has convinced a large number of high-tech companies with ties to the Navy's Pacific Missile Range to open permanent facilities on Kauai.
Baldwin was Kauai's sole representative on the Hawaii Tourism Authority's board of directors and twice served as chairman of the Kauai Planning Commission.
"I've never had a client who has received so many letters of support from so many influential citizens," Kimerer said yesterday.