State enforcement chief leaving position at DLNR
CRAIG T. KOJIMA
Thomas Friel:
The DLNR enforcement chief was on the job for just six months and received an unfavorable review from the department head
Thomas “Tommy” Friel, chief of enforcement for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said he is resigning from his position after only six months on the job because he wasn’t getting the support from above to clean up “a culture of waste, fraud and corruption” in the department.
“I’m just trying to do my work as best as I can. … I’m not getting the support from above,” Friel said by phone Tuesday. He said he opened more than a dozen investigations. “The push back is coming from those that I’m investigating, which are actually management that has been in place before I came on the various islands. There’s a lot of politics being played here.”
DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case said Tuesday in a statement praising Friel that she accepted his resignation and applauded his efforts while in the position, but in a June 16 letter to Friel, she said she was not extending him past his six-month probationary period.
Friel’s last day as head of DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement will be Monday.
Environmental watchdog Carroll Cox said Tuesday that Friel was forced out of the job because he initiated investigations into misconduct by high-level supervisors, making him unpopular with leadership before his employment probation ended.
In the letter obtained by Cox, Case said she was not retaining Friel beyond his probation because he failed to foster a positive working relationship with his leadership team. She also said Friel did not use proper channels to issue personnel-related directives.
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“It is with sincere regret that I am not extending your initial probation or employment at DLNR,” Case said.
The letter said Friel has the right to appeal.
Cox said Friel was pressured to resign, thereby eliminating his opportunity to appeal.
Cox maintained that Friel was unpopular with some supervisors because he was investigating possible improper behavior involving branch chiefs.
One investigation involved possible misuse of an anti-drug helicopter on Maui to gather shrimp and snails in a remote area for a wedding reception, Cox said. Another involved about a dozen missing confiscated firearms, Cox said. Also, Friel investigated the alleged abuse of power and overtime involving branch chiefs, he said.
Friel, who has nearly three decades of experience in state and federal law enforcement leadership roles, was named DOCARE chief in December. Previously, he had served with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement, Pacific Island Division, for more than two decades.
DOCARE has about 120 officers who enforce DLNR’s rules and regulations and monitor parks, historic and cultural sites, forests, sanctuaries and public fishing areas. Their other duties include enforcing rules for ocean recreational programs, game management and natural area reserves.
In her statement, Case credited Friel with focusing on resource violations and on “DOCARE officers not only as enforcers of Hawaii’s laws and rules, but also as protectors of our precious natural and cultural resources.”
She said that under Friel’s leadership “the division supported stepped-up law enforcement presence and activities in the hugely popular Napali Coast State Wilderness Park.” In addition, he “undertook internal reviews of operations, and led DOCARE’s investigations of natural resource violations.”
A DLNR spokesman declined any further comment about Friel’s resignation.
29 responses to “State enforcement chief leaving position at DLNR”
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THere is more to this, the SA should have Rob Perez investigate. It’s worse than the Kunia Loa land misuse.
Agreed. ROB is the guy to do this!
“One investigation involved possible misuse of an anti-drug helicopter on Maui to gather shrimp and snails in a remote area for a wedding reception,”>>> Hard to make this stuff up.
She praises him for his work, but does not extend his employment beyond the probationary period. So much for transparency ….. or hypocrisy?
Doesn’t want him to bite back on the way out. I think she’s too late for that. Let ’em have it Mr. Friel! Go down swingin’
Mr. Friel you are a decent man . I praise you for your effort to clean up dlnr mess. As for case, she is just as corrupt as the officers in the dept.
Time to clean house and expose the corruption within the dept. Where are you Ige?
Where is Will Espero….
Why isn’t Espero chirping in on this?
Friel for Mayor!
Too late. Mo’ bettah Governor!
speak or be fired………….
IRT: ” … investigating possible improper behavior involving branch chiefs.” I suspect that the use of the word “probable” might better characterize the situation. Some entrenched career civil service staff have a lot of authority and I am sure that that a through review of how the money flows [more audits], and a less complicated path for whistle blowers would be revealing. I give the chief credit for trying to take it on. Maybe he and the ex-ethics boss at the city should have lunch and commiserate, or better yet write a book using aliases of course!
Case has been a big disappointment as DLNR head. Enforcement is supposed to be their main responsibility and it sucks as it did under Aila. Try calling in an enforcement complaint. They dont want to hear it.
where is Will Espero…… just gave these turkeys a 16% pay raise…..now they just found out that they are missing guns..
will can’t think without that dumb cap of his………..
Too busy hustling for the Cannabis industry.
Espero is on it.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/32277782/exclusive-dlnr-missing-guns-investigation
Don’t worry those missing guns will show up in the next robbery / homicide….
This is what happens when you talk truth to power in our banana republic. Case needs to be fired. She is probably worse than Aila was.
Her only qualification appears to be she is a “Case”.
as in head…………
Yes, last year in Hana commercial fishing boat ran aground, locals stole everything. DNLR did nothing. In Molokai piracy continues, locals taking people’s catch if they are not local s. DLNR hires rapists from hpd, no wonder he is leaving. Now gun’s missing from their arsonnel.
Poor Tommy Friel. He was trying to clean up DOCARE and make it a more professional organization. Something they’ve needed for decades. He was investigating all kinds of fishy activities, hence angering the section chiefs who have been involved in or letting all kinds of illegal activities take place. It’s a sad day for natural resources in Hawaii. Suzanne Case, you have no integrity. You should step down.
As the saying goes here in the islands, the nail that sticks out will be hammered down.
The sad truth is that it’s very difficult to find a manager/administrator with the rate combination of drive to get things done, intelligence/experience to know how and people skills to get along. This is doubly true in a government bureaucracy. Instead, the safe path is to avoid mistakes or offending anyone by doing add little as possible, distancing yourself from any problems, and focusing on singing the praises of superiors, taking credit for the accomplishments of inferiors after the fact (or blaming them for your mistakes). Bonus brownie points: blame someone else for your boss’s mistakes. As you can imagine this is very stressful and unsatisfying for most normal people. If you have the skills to do the job properly, you are smart enough to get a better job with better compensation elsewhere – often a small business.
This is the ugly truth about middle management in nearly all large organizations where hierarchy, anonymity and tangled group dynamics are inevitable.
Sounds like something the Feds would be interested in.
If you are hired to wheal an axe you must be prepared to fall on your sword. Old management axiom.
He should have waited until he passed probation before, then it would be almost impossible to fire him in the State System.
That’s alright Tommy, State never really wanted anything fixed, just swept under the carpet. Go enjoy the fruits of your labor…your kids !
LOL. Lucky you live Hawaii…..
Another cover up.