FBI work got 23 indicted in 2004

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Honolulu police officer Robert Sylva is not only charged with selling methamphetamine to an informant, he is accused of betraying the public's trust for personal gain.

That's called public corruption. Last year, FBI investigations here led to the indictment of 23 people on those charges.

Public corruption occurs when a public servant such as a police officer or an elected official uses that position for personal gain.

Charles Goodwin, special agent in charge of the FBI in Hawai'i, said Honolulu is no different than comparable Mainland cities in terms of public corruption. He said the bigger the city, the bigger the bureaucracy, and that makes it easier to abuse the system.

"A lot of big cities typically have the same problem: greed," said Goodwin. "You can go to any community and find people taking advantage of the system."

Goodwin said that public corruption cases can be difficult to prove because at the outset, everybody involved is getting something for their money.

"Sooner or later, somebody is going to spill the beans, and we'll be there. As we investigate more, more people come forward, especially when they start seeing that someone will do something" about the crimes, he said. "We don't here in Honolulu have any monopoly on corruption problems, but people do have a right to expect that their public officials will be honest."

Public corruption is a broad criminal category that covers everything from embezzling from workplace accounts to taking bribes and kickbacks, or using the trust accumulated by one's position to cloak illegal activity.

According to the criminal complaints, Sylva, a 22-year Honolulu Police Department veteran, sold meth to a confidential informant on three occasions in March, once in police uniform. He was arrested March 28.

The FBI declined to discuss cases that have been opened this year. But the agency previously has confirmed the existence of at least three public corruption cases initiated this year.

In the first case, federal investigators in January confirmed they are looking into allegations that Honolulu liquor investigators accepted bribes from downtown bar owners in exchange for not enforcing liquor laws. The probe targeting the Honolulu Liquor Commission is the second in less than four years. The first probe was called one of the state's largest corruption cases involving a government agency.

Agents also are investigating whether Honolulu police officers helped set up and protect illegal cockfights in exchange for things of value. So far, eight search warrants have been served in the probe, but no arrests have been made. The FBI also is investigating whether Sylva had help from other police officers, although federal officials have characterized Sylva's cooperation as poor.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.

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