HONOLULU -- KITV 4 News Investigates reporter Keoki Kerr found hundreds of items missing from state offices.

State departments and agencies reported they lost more than $400,000 worth of equipment and furniture in the last six months of 2002.

KITV 4 News Investigates E-MAIL: Fill our tips form MAIL: KITV 4 NEWS INVESTIGATES 801 S. King Street Honolulu, HI 96813 PHONE: (808) 535-0411 FAX: (808) 536-8993

The state has millions of dollars worth of furniture and equipment, everything from chairs, tables and desks to typewriters and computers.

KITV 4 News researched hundreds of records to find that the lieutenant governor's office reported more items missing than any other state department.

Just days before the November election, then-Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono's staff turned in a report that said they could not locate 288 items worth $181,014.

The lieutenant governor's office is much smaller compared to other state departments.

The lieutenant governor's office reported 11 electric typewriters missing in its report filed Oct. 30. The office also couldn't find a VCR bought in 1995, or a camcorder purchased for $2,200 in 1999.

A couple of laser printers from the 1990s also were reported missing. Some of the items have been missing for decades but never recorded as lost. In fact, Hirono's staffers said they never performed a complete annual inventory for eight years until October.

"There's no reason why it should not have been done. It should be No. 1 on any administration's list that we need to care for the property of the state," Celyn Chong Kee said.

Kee works for Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona. KITV 4 News notified her office about the report that also listed cabinets, bookcases and chairs missing.

About 28 chairs purchased during the 1980s were lost. The total value of the chairs is estimated at $7,620.

"It does leave you a question mark: what happened to some of the items?" Kee said.

State officials said some of the equipment was thrown away or moved elsewhere, possibly across the Capitol to the governor's office without anyone updating the paperwork.

One of the most alarming items reported missing was a Lincoln Towncar limousine purchased in 1987 for $23,494.

"It did stick out like a sore thumb," Kee said.

While Hirono's office couldn't find the limo, KITV 4 News did.

"The limousine was sold at auction. The only difference was that it wasn't recorded properly," State Comptroller Russ Saito said.

Saito said the state sold the limo in 1996 for $2,500.

Hirono's former Chief of Staff, Sandra Goya, declined an on-camera interview. However, she said everybody working in the office was honest and didn't steal anything. She said it was just a matter of them not keeping up with the paperwork.

Goya said they didn't want a new administration to come in and look for stuff that wasn't there.

KITV 4 News reviewed state inventory reports and found a few departments lost track of hundreds of thousands dollars worth of items.

The state library system, which reported 274 items missing in the last six months, totaled losses worth $39,166. The inventory reports show library offices can't find 23 cabinets and bookcases worth $5,199. The libraries also lost 50 stacking chairs bought in 1993 for $8,800.

The Department of Human Services can't find five laser printers, just some of the 102 items missing from DHS worth $129,957. The reports show the printers were purchased between 1990 and 1992. Their value is estimated at $8,872.

DHS also reported losing 29 chairs bought in the 1990s for $5,080. It's missing a teak desk and conference table purchased for $2,400 in 1990.

"By and large, it's just simple mistakes. There's nothing suspicious, as far as I can see," Saito said.

State Comptroller Russ Saito's department oversees state inventory. He said some departments have not performed annual inventories, as required by law.

Gov. Linda Lingle's administration will require key employees to personally sign off on inventory reports:

"We're going to make it mandatory for them to verify that the inventory is not there. And when it's not there, to report it as a loss or find out how it was disposed of," Saito said.

The state comptroller said he believes a lot of the missing equipment was thrown out or transferred elsewhere in state government, but no one bothered to fill out the proper paperwork.