The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), which is developing the city’s long overdue and over budget rail system, ran into a whole new round of criticism this week when it was disclosed agency employees and board members routinely referred to an open solicitation for a lobbying/board liaison contract as “Colleen’s contract,” or the “Hanabusa contract,” referring to former congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, who also previously served as State Senate president.
Hanabusa was a candidate for Honolulu mayor in 2020, but ran 3rd in the hotly contested primary. She then threw her endorsement to Rick Blangiardi in the General Election.
While ostensibly a competitive contract solicitation, the emails show the agency started with the intention to hire Hanabusa one way or another, and when an open solicitation became the only option, the minimum qualifications were written to exactly match Hanabusa’s resumé.
This go-around started with comments made during an interview with Hart’s interim directoe, Lori Kahikina, on a Monday morning Hawaii News Now program.
Later in the day, HNN reporter Rick Daysog called me for comment.
“Prior to the solicitation we referred to the contract as the Colleen or Hanabusa contract,” Kahikina said.
“Based on the specifications alone, it was difficult to say this was not bid rigging,” said Ian Lind, [former] board member of Common Cause Hawaii and a longtime investigative reporter.
“But now, we find out before the solicitation was made that they were calling it ‘Colleen’s contract’ or ‘Hanabusas contract.’ This is wrong,” he added.
The bad news for HART continued when the agency made public a load of documents that had been sought by news media through Hawaii’s open records law. These documents made it clear that although the agency held an open solicitation for the $1 million+ contract, the specifications were drawn narrowly specifically to exclude most potential bidders.
I looked a bit more closely today and found numerous references to “rigged specifications” as a form of procurement fraud.
Here are a few examples.
“Fraud Detection Resources for Auditors,” a publication of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, includes rigged specifications among the “fraud red flags and indicators.”
“Inspector General Guide to Fraud, Waste, or Abuse Awareness,” Office of Inspector General, US Air Force.
International Anti-Corruption Resource Center, “The Most Common Procurement Fraud Schemes And Their Primary Red Flags”
The Monroe County (Florida) School District distributed a publication identifying “Fraud Indicators” originally prepared by the USAID Office of Inspector General/Investigations.
Fraud in the Development of Statements of Work and Specifications
Bid specifications and statements of work are intended to provide both potential bidders and the selecting officials with a firm basis for making and accepting bids. A well written contract will have specifications, standards and statements of work which make it clear what the Government is entitled to. Sloppy or carelessly written specifications make it easy for a contractor to overcharge or for it to deliver less than expected.
Fraud indicators include:
l. Defining statements of work and specifications to fit the products or capabilities of a single contractor. Specifications are made so restrictive that they effectively exclude competing firms.
I’m not versed in the state and counties procurement codes, so can’t say how they address such situations. But it’s clear that rigged specifications are widely seen as a fraud-related “red flag” so the concern at this point is not unwarranted.
Unfortunately, HART’s actions put Hanabusa in a very bad public light, although there’s no direct evidence available at this point that she was aware the process had been fixed to favor her proposal.
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if you’re going to eff up, don’t leave a trail! rail: enough already. just cut the losses and get creative with using what’s already there…
Who are these folks who keep trying to reestablish a discredited reputation?
Sure, it’s fraud, it’s corruption, it’s illegal, but so what. Nothing will come of it.
This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
Blangiardi is really looking more and more like a hapless non entity with his so called administration run by a bunch of lifetime political operatives (Formby and Hanabusa). In what was supposed to be a different breath of fresh air alternative from the “politics as usual” Caldwell Light (Amemiya) and his establishment faction, we instead got a guy who’s in way over his head, with it showing daily. Perfect example is his muddling through his police commission choice: THREE TIMES???
This latest drama of “Colleen’s Contract” making the news then having her back out and so generously “volunteering” instead out of the civic duty she feels bound by (because she got CAUGHT) is just so much bad, bad optics. Then to have her state she’s been doing bill drafting and other legislative work on her own time burning the midnight oil, is nothing more than smoke and mirrors and obfuscation to detract from the gist of the story: BID RIGGING.
Not only do the Federal Department of Transportation IG and US Attorney’s Office need to start looking into this, but Mr Alm might want to consider opening a local investigation as well!
Why can’t people like Mufi and Hanabusa do as Douglas MacArthur did: Just FADE AWAY??? They are NOT needed nor wanted!!
“Unfortunately, HART’s actions put Hanabusa in a very bad public light, although there’s no direct evidence available at this point that she was aware the process had been fixed to favor her proposal.”
Despite no direct evidence, I’d go out on a limb and say Blangiardi’s (and Hanabusa’s former) majordomo, Mike Formby, has probably kept Hanabusa up to date with the intel the entire time and even made it happen.
Funny how Lori Kahikina has thrown the FEDERAL DOJ RAIL INVESTIGATION, a Golden hope of life!
Federally funded project guideline adherence by Hawaii’s former U.S. Congressional Member & Senate President… and noted Honolulu trial Attorney are in question along with Mayor Rick Balangiardi’s, fumbling football style of off the cuff failures, are totally contrary to Mayor Caldwells, well rehearsed dramatic enactment by scripted planning.
How could less be expected from City Hall as DOJ/FBI fill Federal Prisons with bus loads of City Leadership incarceration…not seen since the Kukui Plaza Investigation, convictions of Andy Mirikitani and Rene Mansho. How many City Legislative Branch members of past and present, with ties of Corruption between outstanding target letter recipients…Donors….Contractors…Underworld Mafia / Accused Murders and Fixers…connecting all City Branch RICO DOTS to State DHHL Criminal convictions to the heavens and beyond!
Enquiring minds are eager to know!
It’s looking more and more like a crime was committed. Criminal conspiracy, at the very least. That situation is not cured by Hanabusa belatedly declining to enact the contract she was awarded.
Blangiardi doesn’t look good in all this. Even if he had nothing to do with the actual awarding of the contract, he looked absolutely clueless when he failed to denounce or even question the blatant bid rigging before Hanabusa backed out. Unfortunately, this infant administration already reeks of incompetence and cronyism.
At least nobody else got stabbed in Chinatown last night…
This is the quintissential example of rigged specs; however, there is another piece of this contract that remains unclear.
With rigged specs, the fraud lies in the contractor’s repayment of the “favor” to the government employee(s) who steered the contract to them, most often in the form of a bribe.
What is the underlying reason why this contract was steered to Hanabusa? Were government employee(s) enriched in some way for doing so? That is the million-dollar question and without establishing such facts, this is simply just another example of how nepotisim and toxic relationships have corrupted our all aspects of our local and state government.
The ‘favor’ being repaid is Hanabusa’s campaign endorsement of Blangiardi.
I hear you but So difficult to prove.
Also, if true, have to prove the mayor inserted his influence in any aspect of this procurement and, in a meaningful way.
“Colleen’s Contract” and all the emails the feds could be looking at right now are good evidence.
Bid rigging doesn’t get much prison time, but as a felon, Hanabusa would be disbarred for life.
That makes it worth while.
It’s too bad that Natalie Iwasa wasn’t on their Board from the beginning.
If this is not QUID, PRO, QUO what is?
Jan Yamane: ”Both HNN and iLind articles relied on fabricated and inaccurate facts and, thus, reached defective conclusions”. Shame on you Ian for using fabricated and inaccurate facts!
Ian,
Please let the public know about Jan Tanabe’s statement about ‘the inaccurate and fabricated facts’ she is referring to.
There are no specific on hose HNN and your statements are fabricated or misleading.
Any clarification would benefit the public.