Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Rapozo Indictment Dismissed

Judge Randal Valenciano today dismissed a gas theft indictment against county Human Resources Manager Janine Rapozo.

The indictment was dismissed because only 10 of the 14 grand jurors found probable cause to charge Rapozo with second-degree theft, a felony, and 21 misdemeanor counts of falsifying business records. Concurrence was needed from 11 of the jurors.

Valenciano dismissed the indictment without prejudice, which means charges could be re-filed if another grand jury or court finds probable cause. He did not grant Rapozo's request for attorney fees, but said he would ask the state Attorney General's office to waive the $30 fee to have the false arrest expunged from her record.

Today's court proceedings shed no light on exactly who made the calculation error, or whether the Office of Prosecutor Attorney intentionally pursued the indictment knowing the vote was faulty.

The indictment — issued in the final days of Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho's term — was phrased to read that Rapozo had assisted Mayor Bernard Carvalho in using a county fuel card assigned to another vehicle to gas up his personal automobile. But the grand jury did not return an indictment against the mayor, and the state Attorney General declined to prosecute, citing insufficient evidence.

I'm wondering how something like this could happen. Isn't there a process in place to double check the grand jury's calculations? Have other people been wrongly indicted because of bad math? And was it really just a "coincidence" that this erroneous calculation occurred in a case involving the prosecutor's political enemy?

At least First Deputy Jake Delaplane appeared in court to handle the motion. Both he and Shay were in Honolulu attending a training session. Which leads to another question: why are we paying to train people who will be out of a job on Friday? Surely one of the deputies who will be staying on could have been sent instead, which would have been a much wiser use of taxpayer monies.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shay ripping us off one more time going on a trip to Oahu. Must have nicer crying towels over there.

Anonymous said...

So Jake told the Court the Grand Jury indicted Janine when it really did not indict, and Janine was booked on an arrest warrant as a result.... and Janine happens to be an old enemy of Shaylene?

This plot is getting very repetitive.

Congratulations to Janine. And Jake sucks it again.

Anonymous said...

What people have to pay attention to is that over 14 thousand gallons of has went accounted for in 2010. Now if someone does simple math on this then they calculate of an average gas tank of a suv is 20-30 gallons. Divide months, average gallons, missing gallons, then one would come out to roughly about 1,200 gallons a month went missing in 2010. Now divide the 1,200 gallons a month by 20-30 gallons it takes to fill up a suv then you come out to filling that suv 40-60 times a month to amount to the missing gas. That means your filling your suv from empty to full 10-15 times a week. Now I don't know how much the average person fills up their vehicle but I know I don't fill up my vehicle from empty to full that many times a week or a month. Something is not adding up correctly here and that's why the audit proves that there was theft involved. Who else and how many other people was stealing gas is the 14,000 gallon gas theft question!

Anonymous said...

Unbelieveable!!! Kauai County...laughing stock of state. So indictment gets dismissed but what is being done to address the discrepancies in fuel usage? If there has been flagrant abuse...it needs to stop. If it goes back to Kusaka's time, no surprise. Remember her leased luxury vehicle on county dime? How people making 6 figures needs to take gas for personal use is a slap in the face to other County workers making much less than that.

Anonymous said...

Is the Mayor not getting charged for gas theft because he's innocent or cuz he's the Mayor? What's the deal? If he's guilty he should reimburse the county at the very least. Ignorance if he claims that is no excuse, as ordinary citizens are told by law enforcement all the time. No special privileges for white collar crime.

Anonymous said...

I have never in my lifetime seen an area more in need of intervention. The corruption in Kauai is unrivaled. Every level, every agency, every department, every body. I do have a question about Shaylene and Jake's "training" ... what was the training for, and who paid? Please tell me another government agency isn't thinking of hiring them. Anybody know?

Anonymous said...

Problem is neither Shay nor Jake knows how to count past 10.

Anonymous said...

Joan, I know why you had to go to the "prove you're not a robot" thing......but boy do I hate that thing. The way the letters smear together and my failing eye sight....well getting older just sucks! Yes, I tried the sound option.....but I don't understand what the machine is saying. Oh well....thank you for your reports. I know it is not easy!
Okay, let’s see if I can line up those damn letters!

Anonymous said...

Omg.,she got away with murder! No shame, ms. Rapozo, walking around the county as if nothing happened. God have mercy.

Anonymous said...

Kauai desperately needs a independent commission against corruption.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Omg.,she got away with murder! No shame, ms. Rapozo, walking around the county as if nothing happened. God have mercy.

November 27, 2012 6:59 PM

It won't be the first time someone got away with murder here on Kauai.

How much money has been spent on the mud slide of law suits against county employees? How much doled out to cover Shaylene?

All the innocent people hurt and lives impacted forever.

When will it ever end? Corruption, victims, county and state bail outs. Pimps and prostitues attacking and killing informants and upstanding innocent females, driving black vehicles. carry slick reds, and penetrating the Courts. When will it end?

Anonymous said...

Kauai's victims must flood the FBI and justice departments with complaints with people who have been harassed, threatened, or killed by the powers. We must END the corruption on Kauai. In the words of Jimmy V " don't give up, don't ever give up". Keep the fight on against the corrupt cops, Judges, Kauai state and county employees, the GOBAG and their WP militia.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I heard and know that they even get plenty Kauai army national guardsman as their muscle too. CID needs to keep a watchful eye on Kauai's terrorist group thats in the army national guard serving Kauai's Powers.

Anonymous said...

Is it as bad as how many syndicate cops KPD has on their payroll?

Anonymous said...

Shat and Jake in training? Somebody check the attendance!

Anonymous said...

I meant to type "Shay".

Anonymous said...

"When will it end?"..i.e. the Kauai Mafia-Good Ole-Boyz network

When we organize a large mob with pitchforks, shovels, and tubs of hot tar and features.... and march on the county offices....like they do in other countries.

Anonymous said...

I don't get it. A jury of our peers decided there was not enough probable cause to indict Janine seeing that the vote was 10-4. And even though the courts found that she was erroneously indicted, people are still calling her a thief.

Instead of talk about all this "conspiracy" and how she's gotten away with murder, I highly recommend you actually read the audit FIRST so that you can make an EDUCATED judgment on the ENTIRE situation. Once you read that document, you will clearly see that she is a scapegoat of Shay's vengeance.

Please people, don't go by hearsay or even what the garden island publishes because the GI obviously doesn't report ALL the facts. Do your own due diligence as concerned citizens and read the audit.

Anonymous said...

So how do we justify the discrepancies? The public deserves a full and open investigation and a remedy to what allowed this misuse to go on for decades. Has an audit been done for 2011? And is it true that Bernard didn't comply with an investigation as Delaplane says? Where is the accountability? As far as Janine is concerned, my beef with her is that she has been "taken care of" by Bernard and his predecessor when she lacked qualifications for certain county jobs i.e. Film Commission, Transportation Manager and now Human Resources Manager? It appears that her only real qualification comes from her husbands political association with Bernard. Shit happens when the Mayor appoints unqualified cronies to important county positions.

Anonymous said...

She was also named the risk management administrator, her way to become the HR Director, in just less than two years. No one in the county got that accelerated promotions, ever. Thanks to the mayor.

Anonymous said...

Folks, we need to stop this blatant abuse of power. We got rid of shayme. Next is the mayor via recall. Clean sweep is sorely needed in the county, or we all suffer. My friends in the county said the morale is all-time low, fear of a revolt brewing.

Anonymous said...

Is this why they are now trying to get rid of the auditor?

Anonymous said...

Read Lonnie Sykos letters to the editor in today's garden island newspaper. It sums up the fraud, waste, and abuse that's going on in the county of Kauai regarding theft of gas. Nepotism is Kauai's downfall, getting rid of these incompetents and getting a county manager is our return to grace.

Anonymous said...

Lonnie is Shay's parrot. You can't trust what he says.

A county manager just gives the admin a chance to appoint another friend to a high paying job. You really think they're going to bring in someone who makes them toe the line?

Anonymous said...

Is the auditors job on the line because of this gas fiasco? That's messed up if its true. He's doing what he got hired to do even if it shines negatively on the Mayor and his administration. He's not towing the Mayoral line? Good, we need independent minds who operate on principle, not loyalty.

Anonymous said...

What's really SAD is that every time they're caught, the ADULTS that work in the county and state offices on Kauai excuse is always that it has always been done like this before.

So what else have these ADIULTS with juvenile excuses have gotten away with? And will they ever be caught? Crimes, Drugs, Theft, Rape, Murder, Extortion, Bribery, Robberies, Nepotism, and what else have you county workers have been doing and getting away with? Only the GOBAG knows the answers for they are still committing these acts!

Anonymous said...

Auditor is not exactly an independent mind. He's loyal to Shay and Mel.

Anonymous said...

Remember Rolf Bieber - what he exposed as a member of the Board of Ethics and the administration got rid of him quickly.

Anonymous said...

For all the critics out there: Janine Rapozo is one of the most competent appointees by the mayor. She works hard for what she's worth.

Anonymous said...

And she was the best qualified for all the jobs she got or was she hand picked? That is the problem, nepotism.

Anonymous said...

I'll put everything on my EBT card that she wasn't even qualified for any of the positions. Just like most of the county drug addicted family/dad girlfriends flunkies.

Anonymous said...

And that's the same people you have to check out for stealing gas at the county refueling stations. They all had inside info that the system was broke and theft of gas was easy as passing a county drug test because there is drug test.

Anonymous said...

She messed up with an important client as film commissioner, mishandled employee issues at the bus and involved in the misuse of county fuel usage. Is that the quality of county managers we want?

Anonymous said...

Qualifications not required for political appointees. Janine may have all her promotions via politics, but she can do the job, and a fast learner. She stands out among those other appointees by the current mayor.

Anonymous said...

8:48 AM, Anonymous. Those are the quality of the current county managers we have. Qualifications not required for political appointees.

Anonymous said...

Between Shay and Janine, the former is the lesser of two evils.