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Part 2
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Details of the failed cocaine deal in 2014 that led to the initial secret indictment of accused racketeering kingpin Michael J. Miske, Jr., have appeared in several documents filed in federal court as part of the Miske case and related prosecutions, including written plea agreements by two active participants, Wayne Miller and Michael Buntenbah, as well as law enforcement affidavits unsealed by court order last year.

Miller, who turns 40 this week, was befriended by Miske when he was a teenager in the 1990s, and was a top lieutenant in Miske’s organization between 2014 and 2018. Buntenbah, 51, was a bouncer for Miske’s M Nightclub and part of what prosecutors call the Miske Enterprise at least from late 2012 through early 2016, and participated in at least four assaults during that period, according to his plea agreement filed in federal court.

The cocaine buy was the brainchild of Miller, a longtime friend of Miske’s who was released from prison after serving nearly 10 years in confinement for his role in the 2001 armed robbery of a windward Oahu federal credit union.

Miller returned to Hawaii after being released from prison in early 2014, and soon started talking up the idea of opening a new cocaine pipeline to the islands by using a personal relationship he had developed with another inmate who had ties to the Mexican mafia in Los Angeles while both men were serving time in the federal prison in Florence, Colorado.

Miller initially got in touch with a Hawaii drug dealer who he understood had access to lots of cash, and pitched the idea of making even more money by exploiting Miller’s Mexican source. The dealer, whose name is redacted from court documents, agreed to back Miller’s scheme. He would put up as much as $400,000 to finance the purchase, and also fly several cartel members to Hawaii to hammer out details. Miller made direct contact with the Mexicans and began putting the deal together.

Miller also got back in touch with Miske, and sources told the FBI Miller rose to become the #1 lieutenant running Miske’s drug operation, according to documents filed to in support of subsequent applications for search warrants.

When Miske heard about the planned cocaine buy, he wanted in, and the original backer of the project was pushed out of the deal.

“Miske informed [Miller] that he wanted to invest in the narcotics shipment,” according to an affidavit of FBI Special Agent Grant Knorr in support of a 2019 search warrant. “Miske further stated that he needed as much cash as he could get to finance the construction of his multi-million dollar residential property in the Portlock neighborhood area of Honolulu.”

Miske purchased the house on Lumahai Street in April 2010 for $2,350,000, property records show. The home is currently appraised for tax purposes at $6.9 million, and Miske has claimed he invested over $11 million into the extensively renovated property.

Miller met with Miske to pick up the cash. Miller later recalled Miske arrived driving a white four-door Lexus sedan which belonged to one of Miske’s girlfriends.

Miske handed Miller a large duffel bag filled with $20 and $50 bills. But Miller later told the FBI the bills had been “old, wet and smelled like old money,” with “a strong odor as if it had been stored for a long period of time.”

Worried about problems transporting the old and smelly bills, Miller reportedly sought out a drug dealer with a lot of cash, and arranged to exchange the cash for newer and larger denomination bills which would be easier to carry to California. The dealer’s wife booked flights to Hawaii for the Mexicans using her Hawaiian Airlines employee discount, Miller told the FBI years later. Due to redactions in the publicly available document, it isn’t clear whether this was the same dealer who had originally agreed to finance the deal.

Two representatives of Mexican group flew to Hawaii in early July 2014 to meet with Miller and negotiate the deal’s final terms.

Miller later told investigators he drove the visitors to the North Shore where they ate lunch at Macky’s shrimp truck in Haleiwa.

“During the trip, Miller showed them his cash so they would take him seriously when he arrived to pick up the drugs in Los Angeles,” an FBI memo notes.

Miller also ate breakfast with the cartel representatives shortly before their flight back to Los Angeles.

After reaching agreement on the deal, Miller and Michael Buntenbah flew to Los Angeles to make the exchange of cash for cocaine, which was set for Monday afternoon, July 21. Each man had a small carry-on filled with bundles of cash, now in fresh $100 bills.

Buntenbah, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, and the owner of the “Defend Hawaii” clothing line, was apparently sent to provide “muscle” and safeguard the money that they carried. He was employed “as a trusted bouncer” at Miske’s M Nightclub between 2012 and 2016, according the facts recounted in his plea agreement with prosecutors. Although he admitted to taking part in four high-profile assaults at the club during that period, he was among a group of heavies apparently employed “off the books” and did not appear in the list of licensed nightclub employees filed with the Honolulu Liquor Commission.

After arrival in Los Angeles, the two checked into their hotel. Buntenbah was complaining that his back hurt, and told Miller he was looking for pain pills. He stayed at the hotel while Miller was picked up and driven to a “stash house” near Los Angeles.

“Miller met the Mexicans at a house where they counted up the cash using money counting machines,” according to an FBI interview with Miller in 2019. “The cocaine was already at the house and Miller was permitted to cut open one of the bricks to verify the drug’s quality. Both parties were satisfied and Miller watched the Mexicans package up the cocaine and place it into concealed compartments in one of their vehicles.”

A driver was sent to pick up Buntenbah and, when he arrived at the house, the group set off in three cars for the San Francisco airport, where Buntenbah’s contact would enable them to get the cocaine past airport security screening.

It turned out the group had been under surveillance throughout the transaction, triggered by intercepted telephone calls obtained through a state narcotics enforcement wiretap, and their three three-car caravan was stopped by agents from the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Investigation Group, as well as local police from Montebello and Pomona.

Buntenbah and Miller were passengers in the third car, a silver Chevrolet Sonic rented from Hertz at Los Angeles Airport, while the 20 pounds of cocaine was hidden in the second car, a gray Honda Civic.

K9 Daisey, a narcotics detection dog with the Montebello police, found the drugs hidden within the car’s right rear quarter panel behind the back seat, and “approximately 10,000 gross grams” packed in ten bricks wrapped in aluminum foil and plastic was seized, along with the cash.

Two suitcases and seven cell phones were found in the car with Miller and Buntenbah, along with some money stashed in Miller’s backpack, and all the items were seized by police.

Miller and Buntenbah, along with three of their escorts, were arrested and fingerprinted. Miller was taken briefly to a hospital because of a heart condition. Both he and Buntenbah were then released without charges, and returned to Honolulu.

Despite being released at the time, Buntenbah was later included, along with Miske, in the secret 2019 indictment with conspiring to distribute cocaine based on the failed 2014 deal. A year later, he was among Miske’s 10 original co-defendants in the expanded Miske Enterprise indictment. He pleaded guilty in March 2022 to a single count of conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped several drug-related charges.

Miske and his half-brother, John Stancil, were named in the same “conspiracy to commit assault” charge, and it remains among the charges they will face when the case goes to trial next year.

Back home empty-handed

In a statement to the FBI and prosecutors year later, Miller said he immediately returned to Oahu after being released from custody in California in July 2014.

When Miske heard about the loss of both his money and the 5 kilos of cocaine, he reportedly became suspicious of Miller’s story about being busted and then released. At first Miske refused to speak to Miller, “fearing that he was wearing a recording device,” according to one account.

Miske told Miller they needed to meet with Mike’s attorney, Tom Otake, to discuss what had happened in California. The last-minute request to meet caught Otake after he had already left his office, but they agreed to meet in the parking lot of a Waikiki elementary school.

Miske picked Miller up in his truck and drove them to the hastily scheduled meeting with Otake.

During the meeting, Miller explained the circumstances which led to his arrest, and asked for Otake’s advice. The attorney said he thought it was unusual that Miller was released based so quickly, given the circumstances.

Miller told investigators he couldn’t recall if he told Otake that Miske was involved in the drug deal, but said he “assumed that Otake knew of Mike’s involvement because Mike was the one who set up the meeting.”

This version is consistent with Judge Watson’s summary of the parking lot meeting recounted in his order affirming Otake’s conflict of interest. Watson did not identify “Cooperator 1,” but it is clear from the description that he is referring to Miller.

“..[A]ccording to the government, it will present evidence that, after traveling to California to purchase cocaine with money provided by Mike, Cooperator 1 was arrested in possession of cocaine, released by authorities, and then returned to Hawaii,” Watson wrote. “Upon returning, a meeting was arranged by Miske between himself, Cooperator 1, and Otake. At this meeting, Cooperator 1 told Otake what happened in California and, in response, Otake said that it would be “unusual” for Cooperator 1 to be released under the circumstances described.

The documents do not indicate Miske’s reaction to Otake’s assessment, or whether he remained distrustful of Miller. However, an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Grant Knorr in 2019 reported Miske started speaking to Miller again “after a few months passed.”

Records show Miske continued to assign Miller highly sensitive tasks, including arranging for other individuals to be assaulted, even murdered, according to admissions in Miller’s written plea agreement. Although Miller denied taking part in killing Jonathan Fraser in 2016, he admitted assisting in the planning, while hoping the plan would not be carried out.

“Miller did not directly participate in carrying out the kidnapping or murder, but he assisted in other ways, including by helping Miske with planning and by purchasing items that Mike intended to use to carry out the kidnapping and murder,” according to the plea agreement.

He allegedly also helped Miller launder proceeds from drug deals by using cash to buy used cars at a local auto auction, which could then be sold on the street by Miller and others.

Throughout this period, Miller has admitted to being actively involved in other drug deals as part of the Miske organization. Miller “distributed controlled substances, including methamphetamine,” from 2014 until his arrest in 2018, according to admissions in his written plea agreement.

He also took part in the kidnapping and assault of an accountant in 2017 “on Miske’s behalf,” and was reportedly responsible for recruiting a cousin, Norman Akau, into the Miske organization, and involving him in a murder for hire plot targeting an ILWU official, again at Miske’s direction.

Akau was also a co-defendant in the 2020 Miske Enterprise indictment. He pleaded guilty in June 2021 and is cooperating with prosecutors.

In return, Miske provided cover for Miller, who was still on probation after his release from prison. In 2016, for example, Miske instructed one of his employees “to create fraudulent pay stubs for Miller so that Miller could submit them to his probation officer and pretend to have been legitimately employed.”

A surprise ending

Miske, seeking to recover his money, and Miller, who was attempting to salvage his relationship with Miske, hatched a plan to deceive another drug dealer in order to recover Miske’s lost cash, according to an affidavit by a veteran HPD officer serving as a member of a FBI task force.

According to this account, the dealer had sold drugs for Miske and Miller, and Miske “knew” he would have cash. Miller was then sent to offered the same deal that he and Miske had agreed to earlier. The dealer accepted, and gave Miller $400,000 “in vacuum sealed bags ($100,000 per bag).”

Miller later had to tell the dealer “the narcotics got seized by law enforcement in California and the money was gone. [He] did not want to argue and took the loss of $400,000 without a fight,” according to this unsubstantiated account. If true, the outcome is a testament both to the amount of money sloshing around in the drug trade, as well as to the impact of Miske’s reputation for violence in discouraging questions or challenges.

Miller wanted to give the cash back to Miske, but was told to give the money to Jason Yokoyama, who was allegedly the “front” man for Miske’s M Nightclub, and other businesses, as Miske attempted to conceal his ownership and control from federal investigators.

“[Miller] met with Yokoyama at a beach park near Hawaii Kai and handed Yokoyama the $400,000,” according to the affidavit. The park was described as “where people launch canoes.”

Yokoyama was not among Miske’s original 10 co-defendants, but was added to the case in a third superseding indictment in July 2021. He is currently free on bond pending trial.

Miller pleaded guilty in December 2020 and is cooperating with prosecutors. He is currently being held in an undisclosed location for his own safety. Although under the control of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, information about his whereabouts has been scrubbed from the agency’s online database.

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