Ex-state official charged with theft, forgery
A former state boating official has been charged with four felonies, including theft of more than $20,000 in state funds.
The attorney general’s office filed a complaint in Circuit Court on Monday charging Wesley Choi with one count of first-degree theft, one of use of a computer in the commission of a separate crime and two of second-degree forgery.
Choi, who resigned March 18, was an assistant district manager for small boat harbors on Oahu, including Ala Wai, Keehi, Waianae, Haleiwa and Heeia Kea.
Choi was unavailable for comment.
According to the complaint, Choi stole more than $20,000 from May 29, 2008, to March 17, 2011, and used a computer to commit the theft from the state.
The complaint alleges that on April 8 and Aug. 7, 2008, Choi forged documents purported to be Keehi Marine Inc. procurement bids.
Choi, booked and released on his own recognizance, is scheduled to appear for arraignment at 9 a.m. March 15 before Circuit Judge Richard Perkins.
Faulty wire causes blaze in car repair shop
A Queen Street transmission repair shop suffered $350,000 worth of damage following an early morning fire in Kakaako that also damaged about 10 customers’ cars.
Investigators determined that the fire at Kiyo’s Transmission Service at 878 Queen St. was unintentionally caused by faulty exterior wiring that sparked the fire just before midnight, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig. Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 1:22 a.m.
The fire caused "substantial damage" to the office and a mezzanine above the office that is used to store transmission parts, Seelig said.
The business’s warehouse sustained moderate damage, Seelig said.
The fire caused about $150,000 in damage to the building and another $200,000 in damage to the contents, including damage to about 10 customers’ cars, Seelig said.
This is the second fire the business has experienced in three months, but Seelig said there is no connection between a November incident and the latest fire.
