This is a developing story and will be updated.

A Maui police lieutenant is facing federal charges for allegedly accepting bribes and using his police powers to protect cockfight organizers and drug traffickers.

Lt. Michael Vaituulala, who has been with the department for nearly 20 years, accepted regular cash payments from cockfight organizers and, in exchange, ensured officers would not conduct enforcement on certain chicken fights, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He also accepted cash from drug trafficking suspects and gave them confidential information, such as evidence photos, identities of confidential sources and details about ongoing investigations, prosecutors say.

Vaituulala, who was placed on administrative leave from his post as commander of the MPD Criminal Intelligence Unit, appeared in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on Thursday morning wearing a white jumpsuit. He kept his head down as he crossed the room. The gallery was full of reporters, prosecutors and attorneys and a few people who appeared to be family members or loved ones. 

Vaituulala is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. His attorney, Gary Singh, said he and Vaituulala had received the criminal complaint and Vaituulala understands the nature of the crime. 

Judge Rom Trader said Vaituulala could not enter a plea Thursday morning. He set a detention hearing for Tuesday to consider federal prosecutors’ motion to detain. 

In the motion, prosecutors say Vaituulala poses a serious risk for obstruction of justice. 

Immediately before his arrest, he destroyed evidence by deleting his Instagram account, according to court documents. He told FBI investigators he had a “feeling” about what was going to happen and that’s why he deleted his account. Instagram was a key method of communication between him and coconspirators, according to court records. 

“The defendant has demonstrated that – even as a law enforcement officer – his loyalties lie not with the Maui Police Department, the pursuit of justice, or the community he owed a duty to protect, but with the drug traffickers and other criminals he shielded from prosecution,” the motion to detain states. 

According to the justice department, Vaituulala would meet regularly with cockfight organizers to discuss logistics and conditions for holding the fights, and Vaituulala would sign off on the details. Vaituulala also gave drug trafficking suspects information about the existence of a sealed federal wiretap and the existence of a sealed arrest warrant, according to a press release from federal prosecutors. 

He aspired to become the “Larry Mehau of Maui,” according to one source who cooperated with the investigation and is quoted in the criminal complaint. Mehau was a former Big Island police officer who is often referred to as the “godfather” of organized crime in Hawaiʻi. Mehau, who died in 2015, was never charged with a crime. 

Vaituulala’s initial appearance lasted less than five minutes. When it was over, he was led back through a side door. He looked momentarily at family members sitting in the gallery, who were wiping back tears. 

“Stay strong,” one woman said. Vaituulala nodded his head. 

Outside the courtroom, family members who were there with a young child in a stroller declined to comment. Vaituulala’s attorney also declined to comment. 

Trader set a preliminary hearing for Aug. 27. Vaituulala is being held in the Honolulu Federal Detention Center. 

In a statement, the Maui Police Department acknowledged allegations like these can erode public confidence, and it is cooperating with federal law enforcement.

“Allegations of criminal conduct against a member of our department directly challenge the very standards that our dedicated men and women have sworn to uphold each day,” the statement said. “If proven true, such actions represent a betrayal of the oath sworn by every member of this department and undermine the dedication, sacrifice, and commitment demonstrated each day by the men and women of the Maui Police Department who faithfully uphold that oath.”