Carlisle stands by handling of inquiry

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle yesterday defended his decision to have police internal affairs investigators look into allegations that an employee in his office improperly took home thousands of dollars worth of ammunition from the department.

"Who better to investigate this than internal affairs," an exasperated Carlisle said during a news conference at his office that dealt largely with his reasons for not immediately turning the investigation over to a third party, such as the FBI, U.S. attorney's office or the state attorney general's office.

Michelle Yu, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department, said Carlisle's request marked the first time that police internal affairs investigators worked on a case that did not involve allegations of wrongdoing by a police officer.

Honolulu attorney Michael Green, who represents Craig Whang, the prosecutor's office investigator accused of wrongdoing, last night said Whang's supervisors knew he was storing ammunition at his Mililani home.

"He was the training officer and would go directly from his home to the range, that's why he was keeping this stuff at his home," Green said.

Carlisle said the investigation by the Honolulu Police Department's Internal Affairs Division is "substantially completed" and that investigators found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Whang.

Carlisle did not name Whang or talk about specifics of the case, saying he is conducting an administrative investigation that could lead to disciplinary sanctions and that state law prevents him from discussing the individual involved or the allegations against him.

He said he asked Police Chief Lee Donohue to have internal affairs investigate the matter because investigators at the prosecutor's office have "the same powers and privileges" as police officers.

State Attorney General Mark Bennett declined to comment on Carlisle's handling of the matter as did Elliott Enoki, first assistant U.S. attorney for Hawai'i.

Carlisle said anyone with information about the incident should turn it over to his office or the police — or to the attorney general's office, the FBI or U.S. Department of Justice if they have concerns about how he has handled the investigation.

"By all means, be my guest," Carlisle said.

His handling of the case drew a mixed reaction from two Honolulu criminal defense attorneys.

Brook Hart, who has differed with Carlisle on issues in the past, said he sees "nothing particularly wrong" with police internal affairs investigators working on the case "if they were asked to, and they agreed."

Attorney Shawn Luiz, however, said Carlisle should have turned the matter over as quickly as possible to the state attorney general's office.

"Internal affairs is charged with conducting administrative investigations. Because this involved alleged criminal activity, it should have been turned over to the attorney general or federal government to investigate," Luiz said.

Whang was hired by the prosecutor's office in 1992 and is the son of Jean Patterson, Carlisle's executive assistant in charge of administrative affairs and a participant in Carlisle's re-election campaign.

Whang and Patterson could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Green said Whang's career at the prosecutor's office began a downward spiral after Whang reported a number of concerns, including the potential for workplace violence within the prosecutor's office.

"My client was second in command among the investigators at the prosecuting attorney's office, and now he's back out on a beat serving warrants," Green said.

Green said he is considering filing a "whistleblower" lawsuit on behalf of Whang, depending on whether Whang is fired or otherwise disciplined as a result of Carlisle's administrative investigation.

Carlisle said the matter came to light in October after a dispute between two civil servants in his office. A very preliminary investigation was done by deputy prosecutors in his office and some substance was found to allegations about procurement irregularities, Carlisle said.

He said he then asked police to investigate the matter.

Almost all of the ammunition was recovered from Whang's Mililani garage by workers from his office on Dec. 22, Carlisle said, and on Jan. 5, he received the findings of the internal affairs investigation.

Hawai'i's theft laws require proof that another person's property was taken without permission and the person accused of taking the property intended to deprive the rightful owner of its use. Carlisle said police believed it would be difficult to prove the "intent" requirement needed to establish that a theft had taken place.

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