KAUAI POLICE CHIEF SAYS HE WELCOMES FBI PROBE

LIHUE -- Kauai Police Chief George Freitas has denied allegations that he
ignored complaints that a Kauai police lieutenant was involved in an
organized crime ring and assaulted a KPD sergeant who filed a complaint
about him.

Freitas said all of the specific allegations made by Sgt. Mark Begley in the
lawsuit he filed April 8 against Freitas, Kauai County, the lieutenant and a
civilian were fully investigated. The material was turned over to the County
Prosecutor's Office in August, he said.

Freitas said he welcomes Mayor Bryan Baptiste's request that the FBI
investigate the allegations. A formal request for an FBI investigation was
sent yesterday by Baptiste's office.

In a memo to all department employees issued Monday, Freitas said he will
cooperate fully with an FBI investigation. "I confidently expect that all of
you will be equally cooperative."

Begley's lawyer said yesterday, "We will show intent by the chief to limit
and subvert the investigation."

Attorney Chris Bouslog said the investigations conducted by the department
on its own officers ignored the involvement of some individuals, minimized
the involvement of others and implicated some people who had little or no
responsibility for what occurred.

Meanwhile, County Prosecutor Michael Soong did not return Star-Bulletin
phone calls over two days seeking information.

His office has had some of the police criminal investigation reports for
eight months but has not gone to the Kauai grand jury with any of them.

Begley's lawsuit alleges that on May 14 he was hit from behind either by the
lieutenant or someone with the lieutenant. The assault occurred, Begley
said, after he filed complaints against the lieutenant and other officers.

He claimed they were stealing drugs by confiscating narcotics from dealers
and users, but not charging the individuals or turning in the drugs as
evidence.

After Begley was struck on the head, the lieutenant then allegedly drove
Begley home and told Begley's wife her husband had too much to drink.

When Begley went to a hospital on Kauai, he was immediately flown to Oahu
for treatment of a brain injury. Begley was off work for four months and has
since been assigned to light duty because of the injury.

The lawsuit also alleges another officer twice took drugs seized by Kapaa
High School administrators from students without filing any charges and that
a woman informant repeatedly made drug buys for KPD, turned the narcotics
over to the lieutenant and no charges ever were filed against the drug
dealers.

The informant allegedly was raped by a relative of the lieutenant and told
it was a warning to keep her mouth shut.

Begley's lawsuit charges there is a criminal organization on Kauai that
includes members of the police department. It does not name any of the
members of the organization, however.

"We have investigated every one of those charges and turned the results over
to the prosecutors," Freitas said. "But as far as the broader allegations of
a criminal organization, there is nothing specific in the lawsuit to
investigate.

"I've been doing this a long time and every police department faces the
possibility of a rogue cop," Freitas said.

But he added there is nothing to indicate that an organized crime ring is
operating within the Kauai Police Department.