Pacific Wings owner says crew left Maui in fear after dispute with guards

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

KAHULUI - The owners and two pilots of Pacific Wings have fled Maui, saying they don't feel safe following an incident Thursday in which they were arrested and allegedly beaten by Wackenhut guards at Kahului Airport.

As of Tuesday night, no police authority was investigating their charges of assault, which Pacific Wings President Greg Kahlstorf characterized as "abductions."

Pacific Wings retained Maui attorney Philip Lowenthal, who said he was drafting a complaint, with both criminal and civil implications.

Lt. John Morioka of the police Community Relations Section said any police investigation was concluded Thursday, when Kahlstorf and two pilots were charged with misdemeanors.

He said a counterclaim against the guards "was documented," although police treated this as a misdemeanor complaint. That means it would go forward only if a signed complaint were filed by the alleged victims.

Kahlstorf, who said he considers the attacks on him as felony offenses, also has asked the FBI corruption unit in Honolulu to investigate. As a standard practice, the FBI does not comment on any investigations it may be conducting.

Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said the Airports Division was undertaking an internal review of all the events of Thursday and what airport policies and rules may have been violated.

"We are conducting a departmental review of internal airport rules. There is an Oahu investigator at Kahului," he said.

Lowenthal said authorities should be investigating the claims by all parties in an alleged criminal offense.

"It is not supposed to be a matter of what a victim does," he said.

It then would be up to prosecutors to decide what, if any, charges to bring based on evidence provided.

Meanwhile, Pacific Wings was refusing to accept mail that it usually carries as cargo for the Maui police on flights to Hana, Lanai and Molokai.

Kahlstorf said his employees didn't want anything to do with the police after seeing their boss and associates arrested, handcuffed and allegedly beaten by guards.

He alleged that Maui police are covering up the actions of the Wackenhut guards, some of them former police officers. He said officers did little investigating of his charges Thursday and were not cooperative when he tried to file a criminal complaint against the Wackenhut guards. He said his partner, Frank Ford, and two pilots, Roman Sarkissian and Will Goshorn, have left for the Mainland. He has left Maui.

Goshorn and Kahlstorf said they were beaten, Kahlstorf while he was in handcuffs, by Wackenhut guards during a meeting to discuss airport security Thursday.

Kahlstorf said he may have to ask the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to suspend business if he cannot get protection for his employees. Another alternative he has discussed is moving his office operations away from Kahului Airport.

At some point over the weekend, sheriff's deputies from Honolulu were sent to Kahului Airport, although Kahlstorf said they did not come around Pacific Wings offices in the commuter terminal.

Ishikawa said the deputies were "brought to help with enforcement for the time being, because of the accusations."

He said the Airports Division would have no further comment pending completion of its investigation.

Wackenhut, which directs all inquiries to its headquarters in Florida, did not respond to e-mailed requests for information. Robert "Butch" Tam Ho, the supervisor for Wackenhut at the Kahului Airport, declined Tuesday to comment on the accusations that he had assaulted Kahlstorf and other Pacific Wings employees. He said he understood the state Airports Division, which contracts with Wackenhut to provide airport security, would issue any statements on the allegations.

Kahlstorf alleged that Wackenhut guards have harassed his employees for months, even trying to shut down an employee picnic in a grassy lot near their offices.

Monday, he sent videos he shot on Memorial Day to the County Council and the Maui Police Commission. He said the videos show both a Wackenhut guard and a Maui police officer threatening him. In addition, the guard allegedly refused to look at a letter from Brian Sekiguchi, head of the state Airports Division, authorizing a holiday picnic.

Kahlstorf said he has no faith at all that county officials will investigate the situation.

Morioka said no investigation was opened because no active-duty police officers were involved in the arrests and alleged beatings Thursday.

The allegations stem from a series of incidents Thursday that began at about noon, when Wackenhut guards cited Sarkissian for being in the aircraft operating area without permission.

Kahlstorf said that is "outrageous" and that Sarkissian, a uniformed pilot, had the right to be where he was.

When he could not find Sarkissian or learn what the problem was, Kahlstorf said he asked the Transportation Security Administration for a meeting.

At that meeting, Tam Ho made a citizen's arrest of Kahlstorf for harassment. Only Pacific Wings employees have made statements on what happened, saying Tam Ho handcuffed Kahlstorf and was seen beating Goshorn in the head.

Kahlstorf said Tam Ho stomped on his head when other witnesses had been chased from the room.

TSA never did attend that meeting. Lowery Leong, head of the Maui branch of TSA, said his office will investigate allegations by Wackenhut against Pacific Wings employees, but only of violations of security regulations.

Kahlstorf was charged by police, based on Wackenhut citations, with resisting arrest and harassment; and Goshorn was charged with assault in the third degree.

All have dates in District Court on Nov. 22 to answer charges.

Leong said TSA will not investigate the altercation. If the Maui police are not investigating, he said, "I assume the state is." Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.