It’s easy to get caught up in current news and conclude that the current investigations and prosecutions of political corruption are something new.
Well, history shows otherwise.
This morning, I ran into column I wrote for Honolulu Weekly back in mid-2001 (“The More Things Change“). In one section, I ticked off examples of corruption that were relatively fresh at that time. It’s a useful reminder that “cleaning up the system” is an ongoing task.
The column noted the downfall of Jack Gonzales, the former director of the Campaign Spending Commission: “But Gonzales’ no longer heads the Campaign Spending Commission, because he’s serving an extended sentence in a federal prison in California for his part in a fraudulent investment scheme that bilked a local labor group out of $10 million.”
And then this list followed (I’ve added a few links to stories that turned up in a quick search).
Today it’s a whole new ballgame, with the conviction of Councilmember Andy Mirikitani just the most recent casualty of a new prosecutorial mood. Other casualties, in recent years, include:
• the late House Speaker Danny Kihano, convicted on federal charges of dipping into the campaign cookie jar and then trying to cover up when a grand jury started looking into the matter;
• Milton Holt, former influential state senator and, at one time, heir-apparent to the Senate presidency, guilty of mail fraud while diverting campaign funds to personal use;
• Maui mayoral candidate and former state environmental official Marvin Miura, and Ross Prizzia, a professor at the University of Hawai‘i’s West O‘ahu campus, convicted of a kickback scheme in which Miura received gifts in exchange for steering consulting contracts to Prizzia;
• Ken Rappolt, former head of Honolulu’s municipal wastewater system, imprisoned for linking the award of nonbid contracts to the receipt of contributions to the mayor’s campaign;
• political fund-raisers Nora and Gene Lum, who gained experience hustling sometimes shady contributions from developers for a string of local candidates and later joined the big time as fund-raisers for the Democratic National Committee, convicted of making illegal campaign contributions;
• former state Sen. Marshall Ige, guilty of campaign violations and facing additional charges of theft, extortion and money laundering;
• Roddy Rodrigues, former aide to Gov. Cayetano during his days in the state Legislature, apparently committed suicide last year after being indicted on federal mail-fraud and tax-evasion charges dating to actions while serving as an official of the labor organization Unity House, charges linked to the same investment scam that took down Jack Gonzales;
• politically influential union leader Gary Rodrigues (no relation to Roddy), facing trial early next year on multiple charges of theft, money laundering and conspiracy after being accused of skimming funds from a series of his public worker union’s insurance deals.
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Oh how the “mighty” fall. At least the ones that got caught.
Pretty funny reading this actually, as so many of the names ring a bell from my one time working in the state legislature session on the staff of an east side representative in the mid ’90s.
Today’s article in Civil Beat about the viability and bonuses of a UNICAMERAL state legislature sure is relevant now more than ever, in my opinion. Especially for Hawaii!
Ian, thanks for the walk down the memory lane of Hawaii corruption. I remember these cases. Also, there are those who skirted the laws and got away, like Jeremy Harris. Would we find a similar laundry list in other states, or is this in any way unique to Hawaii?
I’d hate to see New York & Louisiana’s laundry list!
Or that of Illinois.
Ian,
It seems that the political corruption cases you covered in the mid-2000’s (and I read them all in the H Weekly–gosh, is that proper grammar–and has it been that long?) was centered around illegal campaign fundraising and donations which is fairly straight-forward. What is happening today in the 2020’s (did I get that right?) appears to involve a much deeper level of criminal activity centered around drugs, crooked cops, and politicians on the take. Am I interpreting things correctly?
So I guess one could argue that political corruption in the islands is evolving in worse ways. In other words, political corruption is trending badly.
Finally, I acknowledge Maui CC economist and good citizen Dick Mayer who pointed out that there is a direct correlation between tourism and crime (drugs, prostitution). So yes, I acknowledge, that tourism is basically a “pick your poison” choice. Tourism certainly provides jobs, but there is a whole other sub-economy at play that has the potential to draw all kinds of people in.