County Prosecutor Mitch Roth was cleared Tuesday of allegations he violated the county ethics code when he testified about perceived corruption in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources during an Oct. 28 Land Board hearing in Honolulu.
County Prosecutor Mitch Roth was cleared Tuesday of allegations he violated the county ethics code when he testified about perceived corruption in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources during an Oct. 28 Land Board hearing in Honolulu.
The county Board of Ethics voted 3-0, with one member abstaining, to dismiss the charge levied by a state official, based on a lack of probable cause. The complaint was filed by DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation Administrator Ed Underwood.
Underwood said Roth used his position as an elected official to further private interests when he testified during Keauhou Bay charter Capt. William Murtaugh’s request for a contested case hearing after DOBOR refused to renew his commercial boat ramp permit.
“He alleged corruption. He alleged retaliation on the part of me and my staff with no documentation to back up these allegations,” Underwood said. “It was very clear he was testifying as the Hawaii County prosecutor.”
Underwood said he also filed a complaint with the state Judiciary’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates ethical issues of attorneys and violations of the Judiciary’s rules.
Roth said he was acting as a private individual during the hearing, not a county prosecutor. He said he took vacation time and flew to Honolulu at his own expense.
The Ethics Board found Roth had the constitutional right as an individual and the right granted in the county charter as a prosecuting attorney to address the Land Board about his concerns. As far as the Ethics Board is concerned, Roth could have used county time and expenses for the trip.
The county charter states, the county prosecutor may “research, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding crime, crime prevention and the criminal justice system to the governor, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the council, the mayor, the Hawaii Police Department and other criminal justice agencies, or the general public, as the prosecuting attorney deems appropriate.”
The board said there was no proof Roth gained any unwarranted privilege or financial return from testifying.
“There has been no evidence that Mr. Roth in any way was engaged or was representing or was doing anything in any way for Mr. Murtaugh,” said board member Ken Goodenow. “It seems clear to me there’s no conflict of our code.”
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.