LIHUE — A Kauai private investigator has filed suit against the Department of Public Safety for violating the procurement process in contracting out polygraph testing work.
Elizabeth Freitas and her Lihue-based company Freitas & Freitas Investigations LLC filed the suit on Dec. 30, 2013, against Leanne Gillespie, coordinator of the Sex Offender Management Team, and Ted Saka as director of the state Department of Public Safety.
Freitas is a polygraph examination specialist who performed under contract with DPS and other state agencies on all islands since 2004.
She claims that starting in 2008, the DPS stopped issuing polygraph contracts under the Procurement Code and she stopped receiving work to provide routine polygraphs for sex offenders.
Most assignments came through the Community Assistance Center and to Gillespie’s spouse, who is also a polygraph examiner, the suit alleges.
“There is an obvious conflict,” said attorney Margery Bronster who filed the suit on behalf of Freitas. “It is disturbing that the DPS would allow someone be in charge be directing all polygraph work to her husband.”
DPS public information officer Toni Schwartz said it was too soon to comment as the agency was served Tuesday afternoon.
“We are reserving comment until after we go over them with our deputy attorney general,” Schwartz said.
As coordinator of the Sex Offender Management Team, Gillespie’s influence should not have been allowed over procurement opportunities, the suit claims.
One minute Freitas was a highly qualified polygraph examiner and then all of a sudden she was not, Broster said. There were no changes to standards, rules or regulations regarding qualifications or eligibility that would justify the actions.
“For the state to allow this to happen is simply wrong,” Bronster said.
The statewide sex offender treatment program was established in 1992. All sex offenders undergo periodic polygraph examinations.
The suit alleges that Gillespie falsely claimed that polygraph examiners are required to have specialized training, continuing education and a minimum number of examinations to qualify for state procurement contracts.
The state does not require polygraph examiners to be registered, licensed or in compliance with industry association standards. Although Freitas meets all necessary qualifications to provide polygraph examinations for DPS and in the state, she has not been hired to conduct examinations since January 2012. Bronster said that Freitas complained to supervisors as early as January 2012 about false statements and received no response.
A year later she complained to the director of the DPS about ethical violations and was told the matter would be investigated.
