But of all the people I have ever known, the finest was the City and County, Prosecutor Charles Marsland. I first met him when he was serving as a deputy corporation counsel, City Defense Attorney, and I was being sued for the 1st time as a police officer.
It was a narcotics bust that had resulted in one of the sellers getting froggy and getting his jaw broken. Honest, Sid only hit him once but since Sid had arms bigger than the average mans thighs, it only took one.
Chuck had been assigned as our City Defense Attorney and he and I hit it off right away.
He was always very polite, nicely dressed, but you could always see a twinkle in his eyes.
He drove his signature Lincoln convertible as long as I knew him.
He wore a short, well clipped mustache that when he was really concentrating he would brush up and down with the fore finger of his hand. You could always tell when he was really thinking, that mustache would be brushed up and down faster and faster.
I shared a couple of community college classes with his son, Charles III. Chucker was also a doorman at a local club, The Point After. A club attended by both cops and crooks.
Charles III shared his father’s conservative attitude, was very pro-police and not afraid to speak up.
I’m not really sure which of these traits was responsible, but one of them resulted in Chucker’s murder. Her was found shot to death in 1975.
Charles Marsland was the 1st person “elected” as the City and County Prosecutor serving 2 terms in that position.
During those years, he took that office to a new level of competency and professionalism.
He would establish an investigative office and initiate cases outside or parallel with the police department.
Marsland will mostly be remembered for his crusade, vendetta, or investigations into Hawaii Organized Crime.
Objects of the investigations would claim harassment and vendetta.
The newspapers and TV reporters would use the words crusade and relentless investigations.
I guess it would depend on which end of it you were on.
All of this has been written to death. All the pros, cons, love and hate that surrounded Charles Marsland and his tenure as Prosecutor has been written to death.
To me Chuck was a kind, gentle man who loved life and his son.
He was aggressive and tenacious warrior for law and justice. For Chuck, those two weren’t always the same, but they were the goals he reached for.
Charles Marsland passed away 2007. He will be remembered.
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