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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Meetings set to plan workshop on coral reefs
Meetings to plan a U.S. Coral Reef Task Force workshop in Honolulu in November will be held around the state until Aug. 26.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the workshop, Nov. 12-13, will develop strategies for research, funding and management of the coral reef fishery. Meetings are scheduled for:
>> Today, Naniloa Hotel, Hilo.All meetings will be held from 6 to 9 p.m.
>> Wednesday, King Kamualii Elementary School, Lihue.
>> Thursday, Cameron Center, Wailuku.
>> Aug. 26, McCoy Pavilion, Honolulu.The task force was established in 1998 to focus federal, state and territorial efforts on the threats to the health of the nation's coral reefs and ways to protect coral reefs.
For more information, contact Wende Goo at 808-973-2935, ext. 208, or Al Everson at ext. 212. U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Web site: coralreef.gov.
Deadline approaches for City Lights displays
Private nonprofit groups will have the opportunity to erect displays in the December Honolulu City Lights extravaganza on the City Hall grounds.Aug. 29 is the deadline for applications to be filed with the city Department of Customer Services. Each applicant must provide proof of its status as a nonprofit organization.
Permits for the five available display sites will be issued through a lottery to be held Sept. 8. There were 12 applicants last year, including religious, educational and advocacy organizations.
The lottery system was started in 1997 as a method to resolve a complaint about private religious displays that had been permitted on the site of the city's secular holiday exhibition.
For application information, call George Souza at 523-4381.
State ID applications to be taken on Molokai
State personnel will be on Molokai to process applications for state ID cards on Aug. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Mitchell Pauole Center, according to Attorney General Mark Bennett.First priority will be given to individuals with completed applications and the required certified documents. Applicants may obtain forms and schedule appointments by calling Wanda Diorec , of the Molokai Driver's License Office, at 553-3430.
The fee is $10 for senior citizens 65 years and older and $15 for all others, payable in cash.
For more information, call 587-3111 or visit www.state.hi.us/hcjdc.
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[ COURT BRIEFS ]
Trial for alleged killer of officer is postponed
Trial for Shane Mark, accused of killing a police officer, has been postponed to Dec. 2.Circuit Judge Karen Ahn granted the defense's request for a continuance yesterday from Oct. 27 to give them more time to prepare.
Mark, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of police officer Glen Gaspar in March.
Gaspar was shot when he and other officers were attempting to arrest Mark at the Baskin-Robbins in Kapolei after receiving information he might be there. Mark was being sought in a shooting a month earlier in Moanalua, where one man was shot in the leg.
Ahn also ordered the city to turn over Honolulu police Internal Affairs Division records of its investigation into Gaspar's death so that she can review them to determine whether they are relevant to the defense's case.
Former lawyer pleads not guilty to tax fraud
A former Honolulu attorney who was disbarred two years ago pleaded not guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to a two-count indictment for tax fraud.Riccio M. Tanaka was indicted July 23 for failing to report income of about $246,000 in 2002 and structuring financial transactions involving $130,000 in cash.
Tanaka is alleged to have withdrawn about $130,000 in cash increments of $10,000 or less between May 7 and 15, 2002, just before he went to prison for a prior tax evasion conviction. Any transactions over $10,000 trigger reporting requirements by the bank.
In April 2002, U.S. District Judge Susan Mollway sentenced Tanaka to a year and a day after he pleaded guilty in May 2001 to failing to file an individual income tax return and failing to account for and pay federal employment taxes.
Tanaka failed to report gross income of $453,236 from 1995 to 1997. During that same period, he owed state and federal taxes totaling more than $137,000. The Hawaii Supreme Court disbarred Tanaka in May 2001.
Tanaka was released from federal prison in April after receiving credit for good behavior.
Attorney quits rather than face discipline
The Hawaii Supreme Court has accepted former Kailua-Kona attorney Rhea D. Pappas' request to resign from the practice of law in lieu of discipline, effective Sept. 10.Under Supreme Court rules, resigning from the practice of law in lieu of discipline is tantamount to disbarment.
An attorney may resign in lieu of discipline by acknowledging that they could not successfully defend themselves against disciplinary charges based on an investigation or formal disciplinary proceedings.
Pappas' affidavit, which outlines the factual allegations against her, is confidential.
2 Honolulu residents charged with car fraud
Two Honolulu residents who were indicted July 16 in an alleged odometer rollback scam were indicted again this week on similar charges.Ernest C. Hill, 53, and Dian Creeden, 60, were charged Aug. 12 with one count of misrepresenting distance traveled and second-degree theft stemming from the sale of a 1996 Toyota Corolla in April.
Also indicted was former Honolulu resident Brad Nolan, 42, for four counts of misrepresenting distance traveled and four counts of second-degree theft stemming from the sales of a 1991 Honda Accord, a 1987 Honda Civic and a 1995 Toyota Corolla last December. The cars' odometers were allegedly rolled back.
Nolan is believed to have fled to the mainland. Anyone with information on his whereabouts or who has information about an odometer rollback scam is asked to call the Department of Attorney General's Investigations Division at 586-1240.
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Police, Fire, CourtsStar-Bulletin staff
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Teen stabbed in fight at Puna birthday party Big Island police opened an attempted-murder investigation after a 17-year-old Puna youth was stabbed several times during a fight at a party in Hawaiian Paradise Park on Saturday.
Officers responding to a report of a "possible stabbing victim" who had run to a residence on 27th Avenue, found the victim with several stab wounds and a large hunting knife still embedded in his left forearm. The officers determined that the victim had been stabbed about 11 p.m. during a fight at a birthday party at another 27th Avenue residence.
Several males had chased the victim to a neighboring house, where they continued to taunt the occupants before leaving, police said.
The victim was taken to the Hilo Medical Center and later flown to the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, where he underwent surgery and later was reported in serious condition.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Richard Sherlock at 961-2379, the nonemergency number at 935-3311 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
LEEWARD OAHU
Man held in alleged assault on volunteer A 30-year-old Aiea man was arrested for assault Wednesday after he allegedly punched his wife's co-worker for giving his children $5 for snacks.
The co-worker, a 55-year-old Mililani man, is an Aloha United Way volunteer. He suffered a broken tooth and was knocked unconscious in the attack at AUW administrative offices at 200 N. Vineyard Blvd. about 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The man turned himself in at Honolulu Police Department main headquarters about four hours later and was arrested for second-degree assault. Police released him without charges pending investigation.
WINDWARD OAHU
Store video captures theft of backpack Police are looking for the woman who stole an unattended backpack containing cash, identification cards, checks and computer equipment on Friday at 12:10 p.m.
Police said the victims, a married couple attending school at Brigham Young University Hawaii, were at the American Savings Bank in Foodland at the Laie Shopping Center.
The surveillance video shows the female picking up the unattended bag and leaving with a male, police said.
The suspect is described as a 30-year-old Hawaiian-mix woman, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall and 160 pounds.
CRIMESTOPPERS
A video shows a female picking up an unattended backpack at the Laie Foodland branch of American Savings.
She has brown, wavy, medium-length hair with red highlights.
Anyone with information should call Detective Linda Blagrave at 293-7479 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
