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DOBOR Buys Tires for Employee

In a Resolution of Charge, the Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission fined Kaua‘i Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR-Kaua‘i) maintenance worker Bruce Kelekoma $4,500 for taking state property, including truck tires, for personal benefit.

“The Commission investigated Respondent Kelekoma’s actions and believes that Respondent Kelekoma likely violated the Fair Treatment Law by using state time, equipment, supplies and personnel for his personal benefit and/ or the benefit of other individuals or private businesses,” the commission wrote. The state allegedly spent $2,753.89 in automobile parts and repair services from Kauai Auto Repair LLC for Bruce’s benefit. This included new tires and an alignment. DOBOR procurement documents claimed the purchases were for a DOBOR-Kaua‘i 2012 Ford F-350 truck with license plate E-621. Oddly, DOBOR purchased new tires for that same DOBOR-Kaua‘i truck in January 2012 when the truck was purchased. New tires were bought again in January 2014. The commission cited a DOBOR-Kaua‘i procurement document that “claimed that the July 2014 purchase of new tires six months after the January 2014 purchase of new tires, was necessary because ‘E-621 tires are worn