ADMITTED DRUG DEALER WORKS AT PUNA SCHOOL

An admitted cocaine dealer who spends his nights in jail works during the
day at Pahoa High & Intermediate School.

The arrangement under which Gregory E. Correia keeps his job while under
court supervision is not all that unusual in the judicial system. But the
fact that his job places him on the school campus among students has raised
some concern in the community.

Correia, 57, a custodian for 15 years at the Puna public school, pleaded
guilty in Circuit Court in December to selling cocaine to an undercover
police officer on two occasions in 1999.

He could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the felony offenses
of second - degree promotion of a dangerous drug. But as a first - time
offender, he was allowed to defer the court's acceptance of his guilty pleas
until the end of a five - year probationary period.

If Correia follows the terms of probation issued by the court, which include
a 180 - day jail term, in 2008 he could have the convictions erased from his
record and legally claim he was never arrested and charged with the crimes.

But in the meantime, Correia reports late every afternoon to Hawaii
Community Correctional Center to complete his jail sentence. In the morning
he goes home to see his family before going to work at the school, where
until the summer recess he worked most days among the nearly 900 students in
grades 7 though 12.

Among other provisions of his probation, Correia is required to be on call
to his probation officer for urinalysis at any time within two hours, and he
must remain on the Big Island unless given specific permission to leave. And
like most offenders on probation, he also is required to have a job or go to
school.

In a sense, Correia is doing both.

Pahoa High & Intermediate School Principal Maring Gacusana, who has known
Correia as a school employee since 1988, said he is an "excellent worker ...
(who) goes above and beyond the call of duty." Gacusana said Correia has
caused no trouble and is welcome at the school regardless of the drug
convictions. "It doesn't bother me," she said.

State Department of Education policy allows principals discretion to make
decisions regarding campus employees, said DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen.
Assessments are made concerning how the offense relates to working with
children, and the employee often falls under "fairly strict limitations" as
a result of any criminal activity, Knudsen said. If the employee is capable
of doing the work and the criminal record has no bearing on the job, he or
she may continue working.

Any steps taken to fire or suspend an employee would have to follow
procedures defined in the collective bargaining agreement between the DOE
and the employees union that represents Correia. "We would have to have
cause and follow due process," said Knudsen, who was unfamiliar with the
specifics of Correia's case.

Correia said he was suspended for two days after his arrest by police in
July 2002, but was reinstated after school officials consulted with
representatives of the United Public Workers union and determined that he
could remain on the job unless convicted of the crimes.

Ron Furukawa, regional personnel officer for DOE classified staff, which
includes custodians and other non - teaching employees, said the state Labor
and Industrial Relations Department advised him that a deferred acceptance
of a guilty plea does not constitute a conviction.

Charlene Iboshi, first deputy prosecutor for Hawaii County, also said a
deferred acceptance plea is not a conviction. "He pled guilty and is held
accountable," she said. "As a first - time offender, he has an opportunity
to earn dismissal."

Del Pranke, a community activist and Neighborhood Watch coordinator in
Hawaiian Beaches where both he and Correia live, said he's "known Greg for a
long time." As a result, Pranke doesn't necessarily worry about Correia
selling or using drugs on campus, but "who knows who could show up" looking
for him at the school based on his past, he said. "There are lots of
ramifications."

Pranke, who writes a monthly column for a Puna community newspaper, said
numerous people who hesitate to speak up publicly have expressed their
concerns to him about Correia's continued employment at the school. In a
recently published column he questioned the school's judgment in allowing
Correia back to work on the campus. "A teacher would have been fired," he
told the Tribune - Herald. "What about the school's policy of zero tolerance
for drugs?"

Iboshi, who oversees the county's Drug Court, a judicial alternative to the
normal court process for non - violent, drug - using offenders, said the
question concerning Correia's employment on the campus is whether there is
"sufficient protection" for society.

"Should he be terminated? He's a custodian. Hopefully the administrators
look at the total person."

Iboshi said that with all the monitoring required of probation - drug
testing, regular reporting to a probation officer, and other requirements -
the school is probably safer now than before Correia's arrest.

"As to what happens to him, it's an administrative decision. At least he
took responsibility. If anybody in the community has concerns they should
address it to the principal." Iboshi said she would send her own child to
the school "as long as I know he's properly supervised."

The fact that an offender who sells drugs is not eligible for Drug Court
doesn't alter Iboshi's view of the case. "The whole effort is not to brand
people with the 'Big D'," she said. "It's not (being) soft on crime. You had
a problem, you're accountable, good for you. He's getting punishment plus
rehabilitation."

Hilo Detective Marshall Kanehailua, formerly the acting head of the Hawaii
County Police Department's vice division, takes a different view.

"I don't think there's any room for that," he said, referring to Correia's
return to the school campus. "What message does that send? You can be
convicted of dealing drugs and still work at a school? That's not right."

Kanehailua said police knew of Correia's employment at the school but said
the drug purchases were made "directly from him at his house."

Correia "made it clear there was no school involvement," Kanehailua said.
"Whether he was selling to kids, or teachers, that could be," but police had
no knowledge of that.

However, the seriousness of the drug involved, and the fact that he was
distributing it, "should raise red flags," Kanehailua said. "Of course I
think that a parent of school - age children should be bothered."

Correia said he's never sold drugs to students or at the school, and
recognizes the dangers of drug use. In an interview this week in the
presence of his attorney, Nathan Brenner, Correia also said he doesn't
recall the two acts of selling the drugs to the police officers, but can't
deny that the transactions occurred. He said a serious head injury that he
suffered several years prior to his arrest affect his memory.

Brenner said police reports indicate that his client denied having cocaine
when police initially approached him, but that Correia told the undercover
officers that he knew where to get it and the two transactions took place.
He was indicted for the crimes several months later by a grand jury. "When I
was arrested I was shocked, right away," he said. "My wife was also
shocked."

Correia said his son, also named Gregory Correia, was "messed up in drugs"
at the time which may have led police to his home.

"We're quite certain it was a victimless crime," Brenner said. "Parents can
be assured he never sold drugs to kids."

Correia wishes now he could be home with his wife, daughter, and two
grandchildren each night instead of reporting to jail, "but I gotta do it,"
he said. "It's hard on my wife."

Correia was found to be in compliance with the terms of his probation at a
hearing before Judge Greg Nakamura in May and his next compliance hearing
was set next year. Any violation of his probation could result in
cancellation of his deferred acceptance plea and resentencing.

"It's a lot of stress," he said. "I just want to work, (and) mind my own
thing."