WAILUKU - The Maui County prosecutor's office is seeking hospital medical records of the late Laurence "Baron" Dorcy as part of a police criminal investigation into allegations of theft from his more than $60 million estate.
In a motion filed Thursday in 2nd Circuit Court, the prosecutor's office is asking that Maui Memorial Medical Center be required to provide the records in response to an investigative subpoena.
Police need the records and documents about Dorcy's physical and mental condition "to conduct a meaningful and thorough investigation" into "alleged theft of funds from the estate of the late Laurence H. Dorcy and the circumstances of Dorcy's death," according to the motion.
Police declined to comment Tuesday on the ongoing investigation.
Dorcy, a Kula resident, was 76 when he died in Honolulu in June 2011. His inherited wealth was estimated at $62 million. He was the great-grandson of James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railway, and, on his mother's side, a descendant of Ben Holladay, who founded the Pony Express.
Earlier this year, a confidential settlement was reached in court cases challenging the validity of a 2011 will that named Morihara Store operator Hans Kanuha as Dorcy's sole beneficiary. In an earlier will, Dorcy had named several dozen charities, his friends and relatives as beneficiaries.
Jeffrey Peterson, Dorcy's longtime trust representative, alleged Dorcy was ill and incapable of knowing what he was doing when he changed the will and trust in January 2011. Peterson also contested late amendments to Dorcy's 1997 trust that his attorneys said would give Kanuha control over trust assets.
The court motion seeking compliance with the criminal investigative subpoena was filed after the hospital reported Sept. 10 that it couldn't provide the records because state law requires a release of information and authorization form and next-of-kin affidavit.
A Nov. 7 hearing on the subpoena request is scheduled in 2nd Circuit Court.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
