Posted on: Saturday, April 9, 2005
Liquor chief promises shake-up
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the aftermath of this week's sentencing of four former city liquor inspectors charged with accepting bribes from hostess and strip bars, the head of the Honolulu Liquor Commission vows that the agency must and will change the way it runs to prevent future corruption.
"I believe we'll be changing fundamentally the way that we operate," Dennis Enomoto, chairman of the commission, said in an interview.
In part, Enomoto was responding to stinging criticism of the commission made this week by U.S. District Judge David Ezra during the sentencing of a former inspector.
From the bench, Ezra said residents should be outraged by what he called the continuing lawlessness of that agency. "It is clearly the most open and notorious cases of public corruption I have ever seen," he said.
Enomoto also issued a written statement agreeing with Ezra's assessment. "I speak on behalf of the commissioners and the Liquor Commission staff and we are absolutely sick and appalled with the corruption that has crept into our agency," he said.
Ezra's comments came during sentencing for the fourth of eight former inspectors charged with accepting bribes from owners and other employees of 45 hostess and strip bars from October 2000 to December 2001. The eight either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of at least some charges.
The commission oversees nearly 1,500 restaurants, bars and other businesses that sell liquor. The agency investigates complaints that range from stores that sell liquor to minors to charges of gambling, prostitution and drug use in the bars and nightclubs.
The commission is funded by fees paid by those businesses with a proposed budget this year of $3.7 million.
Enomoto said the agency knows that major change is needed to make things better. He said employees know that the public perception has been shaped by the corruption, when inspectors get such questions as "you here for your envelopes?" when they visit businesses they regulate.
"We hear it and we feel it," he said. "We have to earn the respect back."
Among the improvements he sees: setting priorities for the commission, whether it is underage drinking or other issues; education for liquor-selling establishments and their employees; and clear consequences for those who break the rules.
For example, Enomoto said that when people claim they violated the rules because they didn't know them, part of their penalty could be sending them back to class.
He said the office has stabilized since the various cases of corruption have come to light in recent years. "We have no substantive evidence of corruption problems for now," he said. "However, these steps are mere bandages allowing us time to address the fundamental issues at the agency."
Enomoto declined to comment on the commission's latest problems, an ongoing investigation by the FBI that included federal authorities seizing documents from the commission's Kapi'olani Boulevard offices on Jan. 18. He said he is prevented from discussing that matter because the investigation is in progress.
Enomoto said changes are needed to prevent corruption in a setting that can be conducive to illegal and unethical behavior. "Please be assured that we are working very hard to earn the public's trust and have not taken our responsibility lightly," he said.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
