Remember the scandals back in the 1980s over the Pentagon’s $435 hammers and $640 toilet seats?

Now Hawaii apparently has it’s own entry in the same category of overpriced items.

A state’s Department of Defense contract for laundry services apparently had it paying $107 for the once-a-week washing of the two sheets, pillow case, and blanket from each bed at its Youth Challenge Academy. Multiply that by 98 beds and it comes to a hefty $10,500 per week laundry bill.

DOD says it was a mistake caused by ambiguity in the contract language.

The company involved is not identified.

The contract for laundry services was originally awarded on February 19, 2010. But the state thought the $10,500 bid was for a year of laundry, while the bidding company thought it was the weekly cost, according to a request for an exemption from standard procurement requirements filed in May when the DOD sought to rescind and rebid the contract.

“Due to price of contract interpretated (sic) by vendor as a weekly amount and the department’s interpretation of contract price as an annual amount, an Order to Stop Work notice has been issued to stop this exorbitant cost to the State.

It is not clear how much was paid out at this “exorbitant” rate before the “stop work” notice was issued and payments were halted, although the exemption request to the State Procurement Office was not submitted until May 19.