A city prosecutor yesterday denounced as too lenient a sentence of probation and a year in jail for a man who stole 52 tons of copper wiring worth nearly $236,000 from his employer and had it sold to recyclers.

City Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter said the sentence for Shane Boyle, 35, who received about $91,000 in cash from the recyclers, sends a message that thieves stealing copper gutters, faucets and wiring can get a relatively light sentence.

The sentence is "not reasonable, it's not fair, it's not appropriate," said Van Marter, who had asked for a maximum 10-year prison term.

Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall placed Boyle on five years' probation and ordered him to serve a year in jail and pay restitution of $235,965, the amount Graybar Electric Co. paid for the wiring used in commercial and high-rise buildings.

The judge said the offense was serious enough for her to reject a defense request to give Boyle a chance to have the case dismissed if he stays out of trouble for a certain time.

But Crandall noted that Boyle took responsibility by pleading no contest to the charge. She also said Boyle has strong family support, a history of stable employment and no drug problems.

Boyle's lawyer, David Haya-kawa, defended the sentence, noting that his client must serve a year in jail and pay restitution and has suffered the loss of his job and respect of his family.

Hayakawa also said Boyle's case is "completely different" from the recent rash of copper theft cases that affect public safety and are probably committed by drug-addicted thieves.

His client's punishment, Hayakawa said, was "very serious, very severe."

Boyle was ordered by the judge to start serving his jail term immediately.

Recyclers now pay more than $2 a pound for copper. Consequently, copper scrap metal as well as copper wiring, tubing and other items have been reported stolen from schools, government facilities, highway lights, churches and construction sites.

Boyle was fired as Graybar's warehouse manager after the losses were discovered during company audits.

He orchestrated a scheme over 18 months in 2003 and 2004 in which he directed drivers to take spools of the copper wiring to recyclers and give cash for the metal to him, according to the prosecution. Boyle received $91,000, while two drivers got $2,000, prosecutors said.

"I am truly sorry for my actions," Boyle told Crandall. "I know what I did was wrong."

Boyle, now a delivery-truck driver at another company, asked for probation so he could hold on to his job and pay restitution.

In arguing for probation, Hayakawa said the scheme started when about five spools of wiring were mistakenly sent to Graybar and Boyle sent them to the recycler. The scheme later escalated, Hayakawa said.

Hayakawa said the scheme was an "open secret" with others thinking that if the warehouse boss could do it, they could also. He said his client was responsible for at least half of the thefts.

"He made a terrible, terrible mistake," Hayakawa said.

Van Marter told the judge the theft — enough wiring to stretch 31 miles or to outfit 11 Boeing 747 jets — had a devastating impact on the company.

Graybar officials also told the judge that the cost of the theft was much higher than the restitution figure. They cited loss of business because the company couldn't supply the wiring, and the costs of losing employees and re-training new ones, and of the audits that uncovered the theft.

Dave Pysher, who lost his job in 2005 after 31 years with the company because the thefts occurred on his watch as Graybar's branch manager, later said the company suffered with a cutback in employees including the two drivers who were fired.

He estimated the cost to the company at more than twice the figure of nearly $236,000.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.