LIHU‘E — It was supposed to be a simple request of the Kaua‘i Planning Commission. A Utah couple recently bought a helicopter tour company on Kaua‘i and wanted to offer visitors the option of waterfall landings on agricultural land owned
LIHU‘E — It was supposed to be a simple request of the Kaua‘i Planning Commission.
A Utah couple recently bought a helicopter tour company on Kaua‘i and wanted to offer visitors the option of waterfall landings on agricultural land owned by Grove Farm.
Robin Venuti and his wife Dana Venuti asked the commission on Tuesday for a permit to land helicopters in an area near Hali‘i Falls, located just west of Kilohana Crater.
Commissioners were hesitant to agree with the favorable county Planning Department report, in part due to allegations of illegal waterfall landings, and in part due to contested company ownership of Inter-Island Helicopters.
The Venutis said they bought Inter-Island Helicopters Inc. in January 2010, and as soon as they found out the waterfall landings were illegal, they stopped them. Dana Venuti said the company hasn’t done any waterfall landings the entire summer. Ken D’Attilio said the company is still his.
Bonnie and Curtis Lofstedt, owners of competitor Island Helicopters, provided thick documentation showing several advertisements from Inter-Island Helicopters promoting waterfall landings over the years, up to June 15. Ads have been placed on websites and in airport brochures, plus in current Kaua‘i telephone directories “The Ultimate Kaua‘i Guide Book.”
Robin Venuti said his wife has been pulling out every brochure and advertising promoting waterfall landings concerning Inter-Island Helicopters.
“We’re not new to the industry, we’re not new to the regulations and the penalties,” said Robin Venuti, explaining that they have been in the helicopter tour industry for 10 years in Utah, where there are stricter industry regulations.
“We understand the severity of it, and we took action as quickly as possible,” he said. “We did what we could to correct.”
Robin Venuti said the company doesn’t intend on doing any illegal activities, and as soon as they spoke with county planner Ka‘aina Hull, even before they applied for the permit, they ceased doing waterfall landings.
Who owns Inter-Island Helicopters?
D’Attilio has reportedly owned Inter-Island Helicopters for over 25 years.
The Venutis said they have been the sole owners of Inter-Island Helicopters since January.
“She’s the president, 51-percent owner,” said Robin Venuti of his wife Dana. “I’m 49-percent owner.”
D’Attilio, however, had a different version.
“That’s my company. I own the whole damn thing,” he said.
D’Attilio said he is currently working on a special mission for the military in Yuma, Ariz., and would come back to Kaua‘i in the second week of October after finishing his job on the Mainland.
He said the Venutis work for him, and are “subbing” for him while he is gone.
“I can’t be at the hearing. They go there at the hearing for me because I’m here in Yuma, Arizona,” D’Attilio said. “I’m testing some new equipment for the military.”
D’Attilio said he has done work for the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Navy and federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Every now and then the government hires me to do certain things,” he said.
Curtis Lofstedt said the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that Ken D’Attilio still owns about 40 percent of the company. The FAA did not respond at press time to a message left by The Garden Island.
When D’Attilio was informed that the Venutis said they have sole ownership of the company, he seemed surprised.
“Is that right?” D’Attilio said, laughing.
“Maybe you should call them and ask them if they ever wrote a check,” said D’Attilio, explaining that the Venutis were going to buy the company, but “they have to write a check to buy it.”
According to Dun & Bradstreet, a business-database company, as of July 3, 2010 Joel D’Attilio was the president of Inter-Island Helicopters, Jonathan D’Attilio was the vice-president, Jeremiah D’Attilio was the secretary and Joseph D’Attilio was the principal. Each one owns 25 percent of stock capital in the company.
D&B places the company at “high risk of severe payment delinquency over next 12 months.” It also states that the company has class-five financial stress, meaning that the failure rate is higher than the average of businesses in the D&B database.
Waterfall landing
D’Attilio said he has a lease on Grove Farm land, and was trying to obtain a permit to land at a waterfall located on agricultural land.
“We don’t have a permit to land. We need a permit from the county. That’s what the public hearing was about,” he said.
D’Attilio denied ever landing at the waterfall where the permit was being sought.
The documents provided by the Lofstedts show countless ads for waterfall landings, and even waterfall weddings priced at $4,000, offered by Inter-Island Helicopters. Several comments from Internet forums and blogs, complete with pictures, praise the services of Inter-Island Helicopters.
When asked if he had landed at other waterfalls on the island, D’Attilio, apparently irritated, changed the topic.
“I live there for 25 (expletive deleted) years, OK? If you live there for 20 (expletive deleted) years you would know something,” he said.
D’Attilio, still not addressing if he had been illegally landing at waterfalls, said the story about to be written wasn’t going to reflect the truth. He said when he gets back on the island he would like to sit down and talk face to face about it.
“You’ll write a bunch of (expletive deleted) lies, because that’s the way you are, you are in the newspaper business,” he said.
D’Attilio has been portrayed by The Garden Island several times for aiding in emergency rescues around Kaua‘i.
He said he was having dinner with military personnel at the time of the phone call.
“You’re interrupting my dinner, OK?” D’Attilio said, before hanging up.
Deferral
At least three commissioners said they were ready to vote on the matter at Tuesday’s meeting, but their decision would be influenced by the lack of information. Commissioners agreed to defer the decision to give the Venutis a chance to meet with the Lofstedts and other community members who had testified against the permit.
Maka‘ala Ka‘aumoana, from Hui Ho‘omalu I ka ‘Aina, and Carl Imparato, from the Sierra Club, had strong opposition to the permit. Both said the company does not cooperate with the Kaua‘i Fly Neighborly program.
“The applicant, Inter-Island Helicopters, is without a doubt the most disrespectful helicopter tour company on Kaua‘i, and the least-deserving of any discretionary permits and public benefits,” Imparato said.
Over the past month much of Kaua‘i’s North Shore has been virtually free of helicopter noise, according to Imparato, who credited it to Inter-Island Helicopters being out of sight since requesting the permit.
Imparato said there’s no doubt that if the commission grants the permit, the “good behavior will end and Inter-Island’s disrespectful flying will resume.”
Inter-Island pilot Luca Rostagno said he has been flying on Kaua‘i for 13 years, and has never got a noise complaint from the FAA. Rostagno said people confuse his aircraft with others all the time.
Rostagno said he usually does special work that requires low flying, such as surveying invasive species for the National Tropical Botanical Garden and checking powerlines for Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, so residents mistakenly think he’s operating a tour.
Chair Caven Raco said he saw Rostagno flying over his neighborhood on Monday at 6:30 a.m., but Rostagno denied it, saying he took off at 8:10 a.m. on that day.
Inter-Island Helicopters is named as the applicant, but Rostagno filled and signed the application at the department.
The item will likely resurface on the commission’s agenda on Oct. 12.
Go to www.kauai.gov for more information.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
