Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Named in Two Criminal Investigations, Police Chief Says

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier says he was placed on paid leave because of criminal probes into Mayor Richard Bissen's office. Bissen denies any knowledge of the investigations.

Maui Police Chief Links His Suspension to Criminal Probes of Mayor

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen is the subject of two ongoing criminal investigations, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier told reporters at a press conference in Honolulu on Friday — an allegation the mayor flatly denies. According to civilbeat.org, Pelletier says his placement on administrative leave is a direct consequence of those probes.

"I believe this is a direct result of criminal investigations involving the mayor and his office that began in July of this year," Pelletier said, appearing alongside his attorney, Eric Seitz.

The Maui Police Commission voted 6-0 on Wednesday to place Pelletier on paid leave while an independent review examines his oversight of the department's Criminal Investigation Unit. That unit's top officer, Lt. Michael Vaituulala, was arrested in August and faces federal charges of accepting bribes to protect cockfighting and drug operations.

The nine-member Police Commission is appointed by the mayor. Pelletier and Seitz say they hold documentation showing Bissen urged the commission to act against the chief, despite Pelletier having no connection to the FBI case involving Vaituulala. The commission has said the leave is not disciplinary and that Pelletier continues to receive full pay and benefits.

Former Chief of Staff's Allegations Triggered the Inquiry

Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee asked the police department to investigate allegations raised by Bissen's former chief of staff, Leo Caires, regarding potential fraud and financial mismanagement in the mayor's administration. Caires, who was dismissed by Bissen after raising the concerns, has since filed a lawsuit against the county.

The police department opened an investigation in July but quickly determined that another agency was already conducting a parallel criminal inquiry. Pelletier declined to name that agency, but Lee told Civil Beat it was the Hawaiʻi Attorney General's Office.

"We are not the lead agency at this point," Pelletier said, adding that the allegations involve "corruption, fraud and retaliation."

Toni Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's office, said in an email on Friday: "The Department of the Attorney General will not make statements on the existence or status of investigations or about possible pending cases."

Pelletier also confirmed that his own department is running a second, separate investigation into the mayor involving a possible felony. He declined to provide further detail. The chief said he has recused himself from both MPD-led inquiries.

Bissen Calls Allegations Politically Motivated

Bissen says he has not been notified, questioned, or arrested in connection with any criminal matter.

"No one has notified me or questioned me or arrested me or anything like that," he told Civil Beat on Friday.

The mayor also denied having spoken with any commissioners about placing Pelletier on leave before Wednesday's vote. "I've had no influence over the police commission," he said, "and really, that's more of an accusation against them than me."

Speaking on Hawaii News Now, Bissen said he believes Pelletier's claims are politically motivated and timed to affect the 3 November election. He is in a close race against council member Yuki Lei Sugimura. Mail-in ballots are scheduled to reach voters next week.

A Conflict Dating Back to 2021

Tension between Bissen and Pelletier predates the mayor's time in office. Pelletier was hired as Maui police chief in 2021, when Bissen — elected mayor in 2022 — had publicly backed a local deputy chief for the position. Pelletier came to the role from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, where he had served as a captain.

Their disputes escalated in 2023 when Pelletier was named in a California civil lawsuit alleging he acted as an enforcer for hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. The case included allegations of kidnapping, gang rape and abuse of power. A federal judge dismissed it in December after the plaintiffs failed to file required substantiating paperwork.

On the day that lawsuit was filed, Bissen wrote to the Police Commission requesting that Pelletier be suspended pending its resolution. The commission rejected that request. Pelletier said Friday that the commission's recent decision to place him on leave is a continuation of the mayor's attempts to push him out.

"This whole thing stinks," Pelletier said.

Attorney: No Factual Basis to Link Chief to Lieutenant's Case

Seitz argued that evidence points clearly to the mayor's involvement in driving the commission's decision. "There's substantial evidence that the mayor asked (the Police Commission) to take the action that they took in this instance," he said.

Seitz also stressed that Pelletier bears no connection to the allegations against Vaituulala. "There has been no allegation anywhere by anybody, let alone by the federal government, which is handling that case, that Chief Pelletier is in any way implicated by what the lieutenant is alleged to have done."

He said the criminal investigations into the mayor and his office appear to be the catalyst behind Bissen's renewed push to remove the chief. "We have a situation where the mayor is taking this and looking at it as an opportunity for him to go after the police chief in something that there's no factual or legal basis for."

Council Chair Lee confirmed to Civil Beat that she had reached out to Pelletier to ask whether the department was investigating the criminal conduct alleged in Caires' complaint.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)