WAILUKU, Maui — Two 19-year-old men were sentenced yesterday to 90-day jail terms for igniting an April 14 fire that destroyed the Pukalani Country Club building and put 32 employees out of work.

According to authorities, Maxwell Webster and Dayton Valoroso, both of Ha'iku, went to the golf course late at night with the intent to joyride in golf carts, but couldn't get the carts to start. Video from a surveillance camera that was presented in court shows the men getting out of their car and pushing a golf cart away from the cart storage area attached to the clubhouse. Webster poured gasoline on the cart and Valoroso set it ablaze.

The men then drove off, and the flames spread to the clubhouse, causing more than $1 million in damage, including the loss of 35 golf carts valued at $147,000.

The Pukalani Country Club golf course and driving range remain open, but the clubhouse and its popular restaurant, a community meeting place for more than 20 years, have not been rebuilt.

In a letter to the court, country club general manager Yasuo Nishida said tour groups, golfers and other customers who frequented the establishment have gone elsewhere, and the business may never recover from the arson.

"We will never know how much business we have lost due to the shutdown of the restaurant that is currently forecast to well exceed one year. By the time we reopen, these tour companies or customers will very likely have found other places or restaurants to patronize," Nishida said.

He called the fire a "life-altering event" for employees who lost their jobs and healthcare benefits, and noted that the impacts have reached far into the community.

Valoroso and Webster, friends since childhood, earlier pleaded no contest to first-degree criminal property damage, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Attorneys for both defendants noted the two had never been in trouble before and were deeply remorseful. Valoroso has since enrolled in a carpentry apprenticeship program and Webster is working full time at a carpet and tile store and attending classes at Maui Community College.

Both men come from families of modest means, attorneys said, yet managed to earn enough money to pay off the $10,000 each owed in restitution for the country club's insurance deductible and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Before receiving their jail sentences, Valoroso and Webster turned to face the dozen or so former country club employees who attended yesterday's hearing and expressed shame for their actions.

"I'm truly sorry. We didn't intend for any of this to happen," Webster said, asking the victims for forgiveness, "maybe not today, but maybe tomorrow."

Valoroso's attorney, Christopher Dunn, said the fire was the result of "a crazy prank" that went "terribly awry."

Wendy Hudson, deputy public defender for Webster, said that although the defendants were legally adults, they were "by no means mature" on the night of fire.

"This case is about bad behavior by immature boys who really weren't thinking about the consequences," Hudson said.

Noting that the fire could have had deadly consequences for anyone who might have been in the building or for firefighters, deputy prosecutor Carson Tani asked for a sentence of a year in jail and five years of probation.

Maui Circuit Judge Joel August said the video showed that the men didn't intend to burn the clubhouse, but they still displayed "abominable judgment" in starting the fire.

"Sometimes what we start we can never completely know what the ramifications or results can be ...," August said. "Unfortunately the lesson you have learned has come at the expense of so many people."

Citing their otherwise clean records and "incredible potential," August said Valoroso and Webster seemed unlikely to engage in future criminal acts, and he granted their requests for a deferred acceptances of their no-contest pleas, meaning their criminal records will be wiped clean if they successfully complete five years of probation, the jail time and 360 hours of community service.

In October, a third suspect who stood by while Webster and Valoroso set the fire was sentenced to a year of probation, 300 hours of community service and $7,000 restitution. Richard Acorda, 19, of Pukalani, had pleaded no contest to third-degree criminal property damage, a misdemeanor.

Acorda and Webster were seniors at King Kekaulike High School at the time of the fire.

The 160-acre golf course, privately owned but open for public play, was built in 1970. It is owned by KG Holdings LLC, headed by Honolulu developer Bert A. Kobayashi.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.