Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Recktenwald was named to head the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and private attorney Nelson Befitel as director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

“Mark’s work in investigating and prosecuting criminal and fraud cases and his experience in protecting Hawaii consumers and businesses from white collar and other crimes will serve all the people of our state well,” Lingle said.

Among the cases Recktenwald prosecuted was the fraud charges against Honolulu developer and banker Sukamto Sia, an Indonesian businessman.

“In a nutshell, Hawaii is at an economic crossroads,” Recktenwald said. “I believe Governor Lingle’s election gives us a historic opportunity to encourage the growth and diversification of Hawai'i’s economy.

“And the eyes of the business community in the world will be on Hawai'i over the next few years to see if we can make the changes we need to make in order to make Hawaii a place for business to prosper and not just get by,” he said.

At the same time, the department will vigorously protect Hawai'i’s consumers, Recktenwald said.

In nominating Befitel, Lingle said beyond his experience in labor and employment law, “Nelson continues to demonstrate compassion and a caring spirit that will enable him to effectively oversee the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.”

Befitel said he believes the department will play an important role in the effort to expand the economy and create new jobs.

“We need to make Hawai'i more business friendly. We need to unmake our antibusiness reputation, but at the same time we need to ensure the rights and interests of working families are protected,” he said.

Although his legal career has involved representing employers, Befitel noted his parents were union members and said both labor unions and businesses will have a voice in the Lingle administration.

“I realize I would not be standing before you here today if it were not for the unions,” he said.

Befitel’s relationship with Lingle goes back 26 years, to a time she rented a room at the Befitel family home on Molokai for 10 years.

He earned a law degree from Arizona State University in 1994, served as a deputy corporation counsel on Maui when Lingle was mayor and is with the Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hasert law firm in Honolulu.

Recktenwald earned a degree from the University of Chicago law school in 1986, was in the Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel law firm in Honolulu before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney in 1991. He spent two years at the Marr Hipp Jones & Pepper law firm before returning to the U.S. attorney’s office in 1999.

The cabinet appointments are subject to state Senate confirmation.

Lingle said she would make two more cabinet appointments next week.