No jail time for Pflueger

LIHU‘E — North Shore land owner and former car-dealership magnate James H. Pflueger received no jail time and three years probation after he again was found guilty of felony charges of knowing violation of water-pollution laws yesterday.

Pflueger, 79, also was ordered to pay $500,000, the largest fine in state history for an environmental case, and one of the largest criminal fines ever, said state Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young.

But Pflueger was all smiles after the Fifth Circuit Court decision, slapping people on the back, and even stopping to pose for pictures.

Rick and Amy Marvin, his neighbors at Pila‘a, a North Shore enclave just south of Kilauea, were not so joyous after the proceedings.

“I felt that even if he had been required to spend one week in jail,” Rick Marvin said, “developers would be put on notice that for bad acts, they are subject to” stiff consequences.

Rick Marvin called Pflueger a “developer,” because the former pasture land owned by members of Pflueger’s family has been zoned for development, and work was expected to begin in 2001.

A November, 2001, landslide changed everything, when mud ran down the banks of the steep cliff and into the pristine Pila‘a Bay and the Marvins’ homes. A subdivision application was then withdrawn in 2002.

While numerous lawsuits and criminal charges followed, Pflueger’s sentencing yesterday related to unpermitted work on a road on 10 days of a two-week period in February, 2002.

According to court documents and a statement released by the defense, Pflueger’s felony charges relate to work done by his employees at Pila‘a in altering a drainage system without permits.

By creating trenches on the broad, flat plateau above Pila‘a Beach, an attorney in the state Attorney General’s office said, rainwater was diverted, and runoff and pollutants ended up in the ocean.

Pflueger said in a release that “this all started when I agreed to help an elderly neighbor gain access to his home by offering to build him a road.

“While my motives were good,” he wrote, “it does not excuse that the work was done without proper permits, which I now realize was wrong.”

In an odd proceeding, Pflueger pleaded guilty to the 10 counts of knowing violation of water-pollution laws, after pleading no contest to 14 of the same charges in March, 2004.

Young said that state leaders wanted Pflueger to plead guilty, and to be responsible for his actions. So state and defense attorneys made a deal, dropping the four counts to get the guilty pleas. State attorneys asked for five years probation and no jail time.

“We believe that the plea agreement we made was fair,” Young said after court. “If you commit an environmental crime, you will pay for it.”

Young said the state didn’t ask for jail time because of Pflueger’s age, his efforts to fix the damage his work caused, and his willingness to plead guilty.

“The fact that he did plead guilty and is a felon is a very serious consequence,” Young added. “If different facts were present (or) if he hadn’t taken steps to remediate,” state attorneys might have asked for jail time.

Pflueger’s lawyer, William McCorriston, said after court that his client is still working with state leaders to fix damage, and to protect the beach and the reef at Pila‘a.

Pflueger is hoping to put all this behind him, his lawyer added.

“Jimmy Pflueger has fully admitted he made a mistake, and has more than repaid his debt for his actions,” McCorriston said. “We hope today’s hearing closes the book on this issue, and allows the entire community to move forward.”

By 2007, when the work is done, Pflueger will have paid upwards of $5 million to settle lawsuits and to fix the damage done to Pila‘a Beach, Pila‘a Bay, and the reef underneath, after mudslides in 2001 and 2002, Mc-Corriston said.

Civil lawsuits brought by state, county and federal authorities in response to the damage done by unpermitted grading are nearly settled, Mc-Corriston said. A contested-case hearing brought by leaders in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is also awaiting a state Board of Land and Natural Resources decision, McCorriston said.

But it appears the Marvin case will go to trial.

“Everything is settled (or close), with the exception of the Marvin case,” McCorriston added. “There are a couple of mop-up things” with the DLNR and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

McCorriston threw a few shots the Marvins’ way, accusing them of grading their land without permits, and their lawyer, Teresa Tico, of requesting $2.6 million or else the Marvins would ask the judge to give Pflueger a jail term.

The civil trial brought by the Marvins and other residents at Pila‘a was put on hold when the criminal charges were brought.

“There is a real difference of opinion between (Pflueger) and the Marvins on who was responsible for (the damage) to the Marvins’ houses,” McCorriston said.

Tico said she was appalled at the accusations, and called McCorriston’s comments part of a “smokescreen” by Pflueger’s entourage to deflect blame.

“They have thrown as much dirt at the Marvins as they can,” Tico said. “They like to distort facts and throw up smoke-screens.”

Rick Marvin said they have only asked for the damages they suffered because of the 2001 mudslide.

“I’m not greedy. We do have substantial out-of-pocket expenses,” said Marvin. “The house needs significant repairs, and the business was significantly impacted.”

His lawyer concurred.

“We have made very reasonable claims for damages,” said Tico. “Mr. Pflueger has yet to take those claims seriously.“

No trial date in the civil case has been set.

But all criminal charges have at least been settled, McCorriston said.

• Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.