Seven people associated with the criminal organization allegedly controlled and directed by former Honolulu business owner Michael Miske have now entered guilty pleas and are cooperating with prosecutors. The latest is one of Miske’s co-defendants in the case now awaiting trial. That’s the first, but probably not the last, of Miske’s ten co-defendants to flip.

My story about the most recent person to flip on Miske appears today at Civil Beat (“The Miske Case: A Co-Defendant Turns Against Alleged Honolulu Crime Boss“).

We still have only hints about the prosecution’s case, gleaned from court filings attempting to justify keeping the defendants in confinement at Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center until trial, from the indictment itself, from the seven plea agreements filed so far, and what can be learned from court records of prior offenses.

So far, we know quite a bit about drug dealing by the Miske organization, and have some insights into their armed attacks on other drug dealers and illegal gambling operations. We know that he set up his people with jobs in his companies, some fake jobs just to fool probation officers, some real jobs providing at least quasi-legitimate services.

But there are many things that are not known. Were there bankers, lawyers, and accountants who aided and abetted by cleaning up the books to hide the laundering of money from the illegal operations into the businesses like Kamaaina Termite and his M Nightclub? Was money funneled into small businesses set up in the names of some of his associates, and were these then used to launder more money from the illegal operations? What about the used cars purchased through Miske’s Hawaii Partners LLC? Where did they go, and how were they utilized? And perhaps the million dollar question–did he use his own power and influence, including access to drugs and money, to build and maintain relationships with politicians and people in law enforcement? And the next big question–Was there an organized layer of criminal power and influence above the one Miske occupied, and that he had to “pay up” to?

I’m hoping that these questions won’t go unanswered as the Miske case moves forward.

In any case, click on the image below (or the earlier link) to read the whole story that appears in Civil Beat this morning (May 10, 2021).