Musings: Mel's Double Dipping

Councilman Mel Rapozo, one of Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho's staunchest allies, has been receiving regular paychecks from her office — even as he accused others of having a conflict of interest.

Mel's company, M&P Legal Support Services LLC, was paid $43,026.20 to serve subpoenas for the Office of Prosecuting Attorney between July 2009 and May 2012, according to a review of public records.

Throughout that time, Mel has actively defended and supported Shay during Council sessions, including some that he chaired. He also has repeatedly and publicly accused County Attorney Al Castillo and Councilman Tim Bynum of having a conflict of interest with the Office of Prosecuting Attorney, to the point of cutting Tim off when he was questioning Shay.

Mel, a former police sergeant who left KPD following the Monica Alves Fanta-See Express scandal, first entered into a contract with the OPA in June 2008, under former Prosecutor Craig DeCosta. He was hired to serve subpoenas to witnesses of domestic violence.

In May 2009, Shay replaced the term “subpoena services” with “legal documents,” added an additional $14,000 to his contract and extended it to Sept. 30, 2010. It was extended again, until Sept. 30, 2011, and then again. His most recent contract expired on Sept. 30.

In 2009, Rapozo was paid $16,580. In 2010, the total was $12,505. In 2011, it was $12,890. So far this year, he has been paid $1,851.20 for services provided in January, February, April and May. It's unclear whether any billings are outstanding, as I requested copies of paid invoices.

I did send Mel an email asking if he had ever sought or received guidance from the Board of Ethics or any other agency as to whether his employment with OPA created a conflict of interest with his Council duties. But he did not reply.

Before coming on the Council in 2010, Mel also was a part-time investigator employed by Shay in the OPA.  Councilman KipuKai Kualii also previously worked fulltime for Shay at OPA, resigning when he was appointed to the Council.

Meanwhile, Ken Taylor and Glenn Mickens, both staunch Shay supporters — Ken donated $200 to her campaign and Glenn has written endorsement letters to the newspaper — have filed a conflict of interest complaint with the Board of Ethics against County Attorney Al Castillo.

The complaint alleges that Al “used his position to secure a special benefit-to obtain political advantage for his Deputy County Attorney, Justin Kollar,” according to the text of an email that Ken distributed, along with a copy of the complaint.

Ken and Glenn make reference to “bias” and “vindictive actions,” as well as “perfectly timed attacks,” making it unclear whether they're talking about themselves, Mel, Shay or the subject of their complaint.

They also claim that Al made an Office of Disciplinary Counsel complaint that prevented then law clerk Gary Nelson from graduating with his class after he offered testimony on behalf of Shay. However, in the September 2011 Council meeting transcripts they submitted to support that claim, Gary notes he had just graduated and taken the bar. Btw, Gary is now earning the same top pay as deputy prosecutors with decades of experience.

I was interested to peruse those transcripts and see how both Mel and KipuKai were vigorously supporting Shay in the whole “shall vs may” conflict, which revolved around Shay's opposition to having the Salary Commission set caps on the pay of her deputies.

In light of the wildly extravagant raises she granted within the past few months, which I reported yesterday, it seems wise that Shay had some limits imposed upon her. 

In addition to filing the BOE complaint, Ken publicly testified at recent Council meetings that he felt both Al and Councilman Bynum, who is suing the county, Shay and planning inspector Sheila Miyake, had conflicts of interest in matters concerning the OPA.

However, when I asked him if he was aware of Mel's contract with OPA, and whether he thought that constituted a conflict, Ken did not reply.