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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 3:39 p.m., Monday, August 20, 2007

Ex-FBI clerk gets 4 months for tapping into database

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 36-year-old former clerk for the Federal Bureau of Investigation was sentenced to four months in federal prison this morning for accessing information on FBI computers without authorization.

Because the information helped facilitate drug dealing by her husband and another man, Charmaine Moniz committed a federal felony by tapping into the FBI database, prosecutors said.

Moniz was sentenced this morning to four months in federal prison, two months of home confinement, three years probation and assessed a $100 fee by U.S. Judge David A. Ezra.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni said in court this morning that she believed Moniz's actions may have started out of concern for her husband but that did not excuse her violation of the FBI's trust.

"She crossed the line when she passed on information to her husband," said Nakakuni.

Moniz faced up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 at sentencing.

Moniz pleaded guilty Nov. 28, 2006, and admitted she got that information to warn her husband.

FBI suspicions about Moniz led to a massive two-year federal investigation that resulted in federal charges against more than 35 people, including Moniz's husband, Eric, five Honolulu police officers, the head of Aloha Stadium security and a Honolulu Liquor Commission inspector.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.