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WAILUKU -- The volunteer treasurer of former state Rep. George Fontaine's political campaign was taken into custody Wednesday to complete a 14-day jail term for stealing more than $4,000 in campaign funds.
Richard Kehoe, 47, of Kihei also was placed on four years' probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service as part of his sentence.
"You weren't a very good thief because all the signs pointed out that you were the one that stole," 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo told Kehoe. "You took advantage of your role in the campaign."
Kehoe had agreed to be the volunteer treasurer for the campaign in 2008, when Fontaine first ran for the state House District 11 seat, said Deputy Prosecutor Jeffery Temas.
Fontaine chose not to have access to the Friends of George Fontaine bank account created for the campaign, leaving Kehoe with the only access to the Bank of Hawaii account, Temas said. He said that Kehoe also was responsible for submitting information to the state Campaign Spending Commission.
After the commission found a discrepancy in an audit and contacted Fontaine, it was learned that Kehoe had issued a $4,150 check from the Friends account to his business on Feb. 2, 2014, leaving the account with a zero balance, Temas said.
He said that Kehoe had submitted invoices showing 16 debits of $250 a month from the account for professional services from Jan. 1, 2014, to May 31, 2015.
"This was all a fallacy," Temas said. "His filings were merely to cover up the missing funds."
Kehoe had pleaded no contest to second-degree theft.
Defense attorney Cary Virtue said that Kehoe had already repaid the money.
Kehoe "has absolutely no criminal history," Virtue said, and "took full responsibility for his actions" when he was questioned by a Kihei police detective.
As a certified public accountant, Kehoe does hours of volunteer work and has helped "hundreds of entrepreneurs" set up businesses, Virtue said.
"This situation is an aberration in an otherwise very good, law-abiding, hardworking contributor to our community," Virtue said.
At the time of the offense, Kehoe said that he had been stressed after his father's death and a client's suicide.
"It was bad judgment on my part," Kehoe said. "I greatly regret what I did. I haven't repeated that, nor will I repeat that in the future."
Loo said she didn't understand why Kehoe stole the money.
"I don't equate deaths and suicide with stealing," she said. "It doesn't calculate to me."
She said that Kehoe has had his own business since 1997 and has substantial assets. He and Fontaine had been friends for about 15 years and were Rotarians together.
"Was there something personal going on here? Were you mad at him or upset with him?" Loo asked.
"I was," Kehoe replied.
"Then quit, walk away," the judge said.
"I agree, I should have walked away," Kehoe said.
Loo denied Kehoe's request for a chance to keep the felony theft conviction off his record.
"I'm very concerned about the amount of money taken," she said. "Though to you it may not be a large amount, in the big scheme of things, it was a large amount."
With an educational background including a graduate degree, "You should have known better, that this was wrong behavior," the judge told Kehoe.
He was given credit for one day he previously spent in jail.
After being elected to the state House in 2010, Fontaine served one term before being defeated by Kaniela Ing in the 2012 election.
• Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.