Findings on parole chairman not released

By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer

A decision should be made soon on the job status of state Parole Authority chairman Al Beaver, who was placed on paid administrative leave in November pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation of possible on-the-job misconduct, said James Propotnick, interim director of the state Department of Public Safety.

Propotnick said the investigation is complete and its findings have been forwarded to Attorney General Mark Bennett for review. He would not reveal the findings; Bennett would not comment on the matter.

The Advertiser reported in mid-November that Beaver was under investigation for ordering his staff to prepare a commutation request for prison inmate Chad Wilderman, 29, convicted in 2001 of using a semiautomatic handgun in the commission of a robbery.

Beaver's action was unusual because the commutation request bypassed two agencies — the Department of Public Safety and the attorney general's office — that normally review such paperwork.

And such requests are processed only for convicts sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, and only after the inmate has been in prison at least 20 years.

Beaver was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 22 by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano.

His salary is between $72,886 and $77,966 annually. The remaining two members of the Paroling Authority, Mary Tiwanak and Lani Rae Garcia, are paid up to 80 percent of the chairman's salary and have carried on the work of the authority in Beaver's absence.

Beaver, 59, developed a get-tough reputation by imposing stricter rules from 1997 that returned more parole violators to prison. His stance was cited as a factor when the prison population grew by nearly 1,000 inmates — the largest percentage increase in any prison system in the nation.

Cayetano appointed Beaver chairman of the authority in 1997. Beaver was reappointed and confirmed by the state Senate to serve a second three-year term in 2001.

Beaver could not be reached for comment for this story.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2447.