HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The state attorney general’s office has launched an investigation into official corruption at the Oahu Community Correctional Center after fireworks exploded.
As Hawaii News Now first reported earlier this month, prison officers are suspected of sending about £100 of illegal fireworks to the prison in the inmates’ names.
The State Department of Public Safety said it was also conducting an internal review.
The bust took place inside the OCCC mailroom on December 6th.
Prison Officers Suspected After Massive Illegal Aerial Fireworks Explosion at Oahu Jail
A USPS inspector alerted the prison to three suspicious packages containing £86 of illegal fireworks, sources said.
The packages were all addressed to the same inmate and apparently shipped from Las Vegas.
Earlier that same day, staff reported that a prison officer came to the mailroom looking for three boxes and told the worker that they were Christmas gifts sent to the prison in the name of an inmate.
Officers also said they had picked up several other boxes the day before.
State Senator Chris Lee said he was concerned about the apparent abuse of power.
“No one has been convicted yet, but even the perception of this kind of activity and abuse is disturbing,” Lee said.
This is also an alarming trend recently exhibited at many levels of government.
“We have seen many instances of greater public corruption.
“In all these contexts, people don’t think they’re not under the microscope. People think they can get away with that sort of thing. It’s amazing.”
A spokesperson for the State Attorney General’s Office said in a statement:
“The Attorney General’s Office takes allegations of public corruption and abuse of government position most seriously.”
Meanwhile, Senate Public Safety Committee chairman Glenn Wakai said he hoped the investigation would reveal more about how the explosives ended up on the aircraft without being discovered.
“This is one of the few cases where I know where the intrusion came from on the plane,” Wakai said.
“We know the postal service sometimes puts these boxes on commercial airlines. ”
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