Leo Caires, who served as Maui Mayor Richard Bissen’s chief of staff from January 2023 to October 2024, was met with hostility, demoted and ultimately fired after he uncovered and reported financial misconduct being carried out by other county employees, according to a lawsuit filed in circuit court.
Joseph Rosenbaum, a lawyer representing Caires from Honolulu-based Fujiwara & Rosenbaum, said in a release announcing the lawsuit that Caires “did what any responsible public servant should do” when he reported evidence of fraud related to grants administered by the Maui Office of Economic Development.
“It’s a matter of public concern, and we’re happy to represent an employee who stood by his ethics, and to his own detriment, actually,” Rosenbaum told Civil Beat.
Bissen and other county officials responded to Caires’ concerns by subjecting him to retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of the Hawaiʻi Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and public policy, according to the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages. Caires is demanding a jury trial.
County officials strongly disputed Caires’ claims in a statement provided by a county spokesperson.
“Mr. Caires’ allegations are inaccurate, and the County is confident it will prevail in court,” the statement says. “The concerns he raises were identified by others at the time, and we reject any attempt to revise history.”
Bissen described the decision to fire Caires as one of the most difficult he’s had to make as mayor,...
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