Despite Indictment, Kenoi Won’t Resign
Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi’s attorney told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that Kenoi won’t resign despite getting indicted on felony theft charges.
Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi’s attorney told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that the mayor won’t resign despite getting indicted Wednesday on felony theft charges.
“The county is not out one penny. Mayor Kenoi has not enriched himself one penny,” Honolulu attorney Todd Eddins told the newspaper. “It is factually and legally feeble to claim that Billy Kenoi stole from his hometown.”
The state attorney general announced Wednesday that a grand jury indicted Kenoi for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from the county and tampering with government records. If convicted of second-degree theft, he could spend five years in prison and owe $10,000.
Here’s an excerpt from the newspaper’s story;
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Kenoi is accused of falsely describing a purchase at the Hilo Yacht Club as an “office strategic planning luncheon,” a purchase at a Longs Drugs store “as being for Sam Choy’s Poke Contest Volunteer Appreciation Event,” and a purchase at Volcano House Restaurant as a “luncheon with U.S. Conference of Mayors visitors.”
The purchases occurred in October 2011, March 2013 and June 2014. The indictment also states that on Feb. 6, 2015, Kenoi intentionally made a false statement under oath, but doesn’t say what the statement was. The Attorney General’s Office began investigating Kenoi’s pCard use in April 2015 after Big Island newspapers reported Kenoi had used his pCard at a Honolulu hostess bar. The mayor racked up more than $120,000 in charges on the card by then, including $892 at hostess bar Club Evergreen, $1,219.69 for a surfboard, and a $700 tab at a Hilo karaoke bar. He also spent $400 at another Honolulu hostess bar, the Camelot Restaurant and Lounge. Kenoi reimbursed the county for $22,292 in charges between January 2009 and March 2015. He later paid back an additional $7,503. |
Read the full story at the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
