Prosecutor pays overdue fine

LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Office of the Prosecuting Attorney this week paid the overdue $500 fine that had been levied for failure to appear in court in December, according to Marsha Kitagawa, public affairs officer for the Hawai‘i State Judiciary.

The fine, which stemmed from an unidentified deputy prosecuting attorney arriving an hour late for the 9 a.m. criminal calendar on Dec. 17 and failing to communicate with the court, was originally due within 30 days but was paid six weeks after the incident.

Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho confirmed the payment in a Tuesday press release from her office.

“As your elected prosecutor, I have taken full responsibility to resolve the issue by paying for the outstanding fine (Monday). I, as your prosecutor, was not personally fined. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances prevented our office from making a timely appearance, which resulted in a fine against the office,” she says in the release. “As always, it is an honor to serve the people of Kaua‘i and we will continue our efforts to (provide) ‘pono kaulike,’ equal rights and justice for all.”

Kitagawa said the check was no longer available Tuesday after being processed the day before, but said a court administrator recalled the payment being made via a cashiers check issued from the Kaua‘i County Federal Credit Union and not from the county Finance Department.

Last May, Iseri-Carvalho, then a Kaua‘i County Council member, lambasted then-Prosecutor Craig De Costa and County Finance Director Wally Rezentes Jr. for their decision to pay $1,690 in court fines out of county coffers.

Last week, Iseri-Carvalho said in an e-mail that she had vowed to “never use taxpayer’s (sic) funds” for that purpose.

• Michael Levine, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or via e-mail at mlevine@kauaipubco.com