Posted on: Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Starter fined in Ala Wai golf scam

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A former city golf course starter was fined $15,000 yesterday for accepting bribes from golfers to give them preferential tee times at the Ala Wai golf course.

In addition, Circuit Judge Carl Sakamoto ordered Crystal Kakugawa to perform 250 hours of community service and barred her from playing golf on any other city-owned golf course for five years.

Kakugawa and another Ala Wai starter were arrested on bribery charges after a police investigation that began when Ala Wai golfers noticed that certain golfers always seemed to enjoy preferred starting times.

Investigators found that the groups enjoying special treatment made payments of $5 per person to the starters to bypass other golfers waiting to get on what is believed to be one of the busiest golf courses in the nation.