[ OUR OPINION ]
OBSTRUCTIONIST politics again threatens to protect criminals engaged in the brutal blood sport of cockfighting, but Maui law-enforcement authorities are employing a novel and aggressive approach. Many of the 35 people on the Valley Isle charged with the misdemeanor of animal cruelty also face potential felony charges of racketeering and promotion of gambling. Honolulu police should use the same method to crack down on cockfighting on Oahu. Felony charges
beat bad politics
THE ISSUE Maui authorities are seeking felony gambling and racketeering convictions of cockfighting enthusiasts.
As it did last year, the state Senate has approved a bill that would make "aggravated cruelty to animals" -- including roosters -- a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Twenty-eight states now treat cockfighting as a felony. House Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa, who has noted "a lot of cockfighting constituents" in his Big Island district, again has shamelessly blocked the bill in his committee. If successful, Maui authorities could render Hamakawa's obstruction irrelevant.
Maui police made the arrests in January after a year-long investigation of two alleged cockfighting organizations. While some of those arrested were charged with animal cruelty and gambling, both misdemeanors, at least 20 were charged with racketeering or promoting gambling, felonies that carry maximum prison terms of 10 and five years respectively. The charges against most of the defendants were dismissed because of a grand juror's impropriety, but they are expected to be indicted again by another grand jury.
As Honolulu police Sgt. Aaron Farias has explained to community groups, cockfighting would not exist as a sport if not for gambling. Farias links the activity to organized crime, extortion, domestic violence, theft and drug dealing. One dispute concerning a Kalihi cockfight led to the 2001 beating death of a gambler.
According to Honolulu police, cockfighting season runs from November through July, with fights nearly every weekend at locations around the island. As many as 300 people are drawn to large fights, or derbies, described by police as having "a carnival-like atmosphere with vending machines and entire families attending."
Police on Oahu have long been frustrated by the typical $100 fines of those found guilty of cockfighting. Enthusiasts of cockfighting also may be fined $250 to $1,000 for possession of gaffs, the sharp metal spurs attached to gamecocks to gouge opposing roosters. Those fines amount to little more than a cockfighting license fee. By tacking on charges of racketeering and promotion of gambling, Maui authorities have dramatically raised the stakes.
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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
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Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
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