Obama friend arrested for soliciting prostitute

[April 07, 2011]  HONOLULU (AP) -- One of President Barack Obama's close friends has been arrested in Honolulu on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute.

Robert "Bobby" Titcomb was one of four men arrested in an undercover sting operation late Monday and later released on $500 bail, according to Honolulu police.

Titcomb, 49, attended Punahou School in Honolulu with Obama in the 1970s. The president graduated in 1979, a year before Titcomb. The two often play golf and basketball, go to the beach and dine together when the president returns home to Hawaii for vacation.

Obama's family has also attended barbecues at Titcomb's beachside home in Waialua, located on Oahu's North Shore about an hour outside of downtown Honolulu.

Titcomb and Obama last spent time together in Hawaii during Obama's most recent vacation over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

The White House had no comment. Titcomb has not publicly responded to the charges, and he wasn't immediately available for comment.

Police said Titcomb was arrested at 9:40 p.m. Monday near downtown at the intersection of South and Pohukaina streets, which is next to the Circuit Court building and a large parking lot. He posted bail about two hours later.

Titcomb has worked as a commercial fisherman and an airline employee, according to the spring 2007 edition of the "Punahou Bulletin," the school's alumni magazine.

In 1987, he was arrested on drunken driving charges, which led to the 90-day suspension of his license and a $150 fine, according to state criminal records.

[Associated Press; By JAYMES SONG]

AP writers Jennifer Kelleher and Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.

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