Whistle blower’s City officials have hired a private investigator to look into the suspension of a construction consultant who blew the whistle on millions of dollars in cost overruns at the $45 million Central Oahu Regional Park.
suspension probed
The city's hiring of an investigator
draws a charge of harassmentBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.com
But the consultant, local engineer Kelly Saunders, said she believes that the hiring of the investigator was part of a plan to harass her and stifle her criticisms of the city's handling of the Waipahu sports complex.
Last summer, city Corporation Counsel David Arakawa retained local private detective and former television reporter Matt Levi to interview Saunders after she alleged that the city and the city's consultant, SSFM International Inc., mismanaged 269-acre Central Oahu Regional Park.
Saunders said she was suspended early last summer by her former superior, Eric Crispin, now acting director of the city Planning and Permitting Department, when she complained to her superiors about the project. Saunders, who worked for the city on a contract basis, said she was let go after her contract expired later last summer.
The city's handling of the Waipahu project and the SSFM firm are at the center of city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's criminal investigation into the city's award of nonbid contracts to political donors to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.
SSFM Chief Executive Officer Michael Matsumoto recently pleaded not guilty to charges he laundered thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and made political donations under false names to the Harris campaign.
Saunders said Levi questioned her about the circumstances of her suspension, but did not delve into her criticisms of the city's handling of the park project.
She said Levi told her that he did not have any expertise in the construction field. Saunders added that Levi told her that he was simply looking into personnel issues.
"I kind of got the idea that this was slanted against me," Saunders said. "It doesn't seem like they're concerned about investigating the project."
Levi declined comment.
City spokeswoman Carol Costa had no immediate comment, saying it was a personnel matter.
Levi is a former investigative reporter for KGMB-TV who has headed his own private investigative agency since 1988. He has worked for the city as an expert witness and investigator for litigation involving the Honolulu Police Department. Since 1997, the city has paid Levi's firm more than $120,000.
The Central Oahu Regional Park, which opened in July 2001, is the city's largest recreational park. The complex includes several baseball fields and five multipurpose fields for soccer, football and other sports.
The project's second phase, which is not finished, will include a 30-court tennis complex and a 20-lane archery range.
SSFM initially was hired in 1999 for $932,000 to manage construction on the Central Oahu Regional Park, but that contract has since ballooned to $3.7 million.
SSFM is linked to more than $100,000 in alleged illegal campaign contributions to the Harris campaign and is the target of investigations by the state Campaign Spending Commission, a federal grand jury and the Prosecutor's Office.
Saunders, now working as a project engineer for a local construction company LYZ Inc., said she believes that she has been blacklisted for speaking out about the Central Oahu project.
But she said it was "worth it to expose what was happening on Central Oahu."
"They almost act like it's their money and not the people's money," Saunders said. "Gee, if this was their house and I came to them about shoddy construction at their house, they would have another attitude."
City & County of Honolulu
