HILO — A former employee of the county Department of Finance Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division pleaded no contest Tuesday to embezzling from the county.
HILO — A former employee of the county Department of Finance Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division pleaded no contest Tuesday to embezzling from the county.
Mary Leinaala DeMello entered her plea to a first-degree theft charge. In a deal with prosecutors, a charge of first-degree computer fraud was dismissed against the 46-year-old woman.
Kanani Laubach, DeMello’s attorney, told Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara the reason for the no-contest plea is “civil liability.”
Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Hashizaki told the court if the case went to trial, the state would prove “Ms. DeMello took U.S. currency” from the county’s Registration and Licensing Division while employed there. Hashizaki said an audit revealed the amount taken was $30,818.82.
DeMello was indicted by a Hilo grand jury on July 9, 2014. According to the indictment, the thefts occurred over a two-year period between Aug. 1, 2009, and July 28, 2011.
Hara told DeMello he will abide by terms of the plea agreement, which include a five-year probation sentence.
DeMello will be sentenced on Mar. 15. At that time, the state will be free to argue for a jail term of 18 months, with all but 30 days stayed, while the defense can argue for no jail time. If jail is imposed, DeMello will be allowed to serve her term behind bars on weekends.
DeMello also is requesting a deferral of her no-contest plea. If the deferral is granted, the conviction will be erased from her record if she stays out of trouble with the law during her probation.
First-degree theft is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, while the dismissed charge, first-degree computer fraud, carries a possible 20-year prison term upon conviction.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.