Officer who 'flushed' money pleads no contest to theft

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A former Honolulu police officer assigned to the Vice and Narcotics Division pleaded no contest in Circuit Court yesterday to a second-degree theft charge stemming from money that was reported missing after a drug raid at a Waikiki hotel in August.

Robert "Bobby" Fu, 45, asked Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall to defer accepting his guilty plea, which would allow him to avoid a criminal record if he stays out of trouble for a specified period of time and abides by conditions similar to probation.

Crandall said she was inclined to grant the request when Fu returns to court April 19, providing a pre-sentencing report confirms that he has never been in trouble with the law before.

Fu, a 12-year veteran of the Police Department, was indicted by an O'ahu grand jury last February on a charge alleging that he stole more than $300 belonging to a man arrested during a drug raid.

An internal affairs investigation followed Fu's indictment, and he was reassigned to desk duty with pay. He was also stripped of his police powers, and forced to turn in his gun and badge.

Fu resigned Feb. 2.

In a statement filed in court in September, Fu's attorney, David Gierlach, said Fu seized some cash during the drug raid and was preparing to turn it over to the officer in charge when he went to the hotel room's bathroom to relieve himself.

Fu accidentally dropped the money into the toilet while flushing it and it disappeared down the drain, Gierlach said in the statement.

Gierlach yesterday said that the missing cash amounted to $360.

He said Fu decided to plead no contest to the theft charge yesterday rather than "take a chance" on going to trial.

"It's a result he can live with," Gierlach said of Fu's decision not to go to trial.

If Crandall denies the deferral request, Fu would face sentencing on the second-degree theft charge, which carries a prison term of up to five years and a fine of up to $10,000.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.