Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 1992 — Keale cleared of wrong- doing [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Keale cleared of wrongdoing

A state Attorney General 's

investigation has found that OHA Trustee Rev. Moses K. Keale, Sr. did not sign a contract with the Uhaele Corp., a Nevadabased development group whieh had been seeking to do business with OHA. The announcement was made in late October. The investigation included handwriting analysis by an expert at the Honolulu Poliee Department, who concluded that Keale's signature was forged on the document. Investigators are not able to conclusively determine who forged the signature, since the continued on page 2

Keale, from page 1

"I have always held the firm belief that any investigation would vindicate and clear my name and this has proven to be the case," said Keale, who is trustee for Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. Keale voluntarily stepped down as chairman of the OHA Board of Trustees on May 15, 1991, calling for the Attorney General's office to investigate the Uhaele Group matter. He insisted that he step down to remove any cloud of doubt over OHA or its chief executive officer embodied in the office whieh he held at the time. "In my 12 years of service to the Hawaiian people, I have always adhered to the pnneiple that the people eome first and that we, as elected trustees, should always look at what is best for those we serve. It does eon-

months for the Attorney General's office to make this announcement official." "I wish to thank Ke Akua and all of those friends, family and supporters who stood through this whole ordeal. My special aloha goes out to those who were unjustly affected by this incident. As Hawaiians, when one of our 'ohana is injured, all of the 'ohana is injured. Now we ean get back to work and alleviate those hurts. "We have a great task ahead of us at OHA. All of this 'ōpala detracts from our responsibilities and detracts from the real issues facing our Hawaiian people. As I said in my September article in Ka Wai Ola O OHA, I am not afraid to fight for all of our Hawaiian entitlements no matter what the costs or sacrifices. Thank you."