Bookkeeper
who disappeared
pleads not guilty

A Salt Lake man accused of stealing $150,000 from a former employer waived indictment and pleaded not guilty yesterday in Circuit Court to 11 counts including second-degree forgery, first-degree theft and money laundering.

Kenneth Peters: His Mercedes was found on the Makapuu cliffs in March, with no sign of him

Kenneth J. Peters Jr., 31, was charged in a June 24 complaint with forging numerous checks, stealing equipment and fraudulently using credit cards in the name of Flight School Hawaii, where he formerly worked as a bookkeeper.

He was reported missing by family March 22 after his 2005 Mercedes Benz was spotted in brush along the cliffs of Makapuu with his keys and cell phone inside but no sign of him.

Investigators located Peters in Thailand, and he returned to Hawaii three days late, only to be stopped by U.S. Customs for failing to declare a large sum of cash. He was believed to have fled the country because of the criminal investigation against him.

Peters and his attorney, Don Wilkerson, declined to comment after his appearance yesterday. Peters, who turned himself in to police June 23, was expected to post $11,000 bail. Trial has been set for Sept. 6.