Evidence being used in the racketeering prosecution of former Honolulu business owner Miske was gathered over the course of four federal investigations dating back to the late 1990s.

A recent motion filed in federal court by Miske’s attorneys provided some details regarding these prior investigations. Their references to the investigations are ambiguous, implying that Miske was a focus of these investigations, but not actually saying that. It may be that one or more of the early investigations targeted others who Miske associated with, leading to him being swept up in the investigation.

In any case, here are the four investigations described by Miske’s legal team.

#1:

This investigation carried out by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force was initiated on March 18, 1998. Miske had turned 24 the month before.

According to its website, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force” leverages the resources and expertise of its partners in concentrated, coordinated, long-term enterprise investigations of transnational organized crime, money laundering, and major drug trafficking networks.”

According to the motion filed by Miske’s attorneys, one witness who was cooperating with the FBI, was authorized to record incriminating conversations with Miske, but “no such recordings were made,” and no charges were filed against Miske.

A number of others were convicted of drug offenses in Honolulu over the next several years, likely as a result of this investigation. They included an older cousin of Miske’s who was convicted and sentenced to a 25-year term in federal prison, along with several others who are now considered potential witnesses in Miske’s upcoming trial.

#2: The second investigation was initiated on June 8, 2006.

From the motion: “It was a joint RICO investigation with the DEA, HPD and the United States Department of Labor (Bates 00354465-00354466). The FBI alleged that Miske was a methamphetamine distributor. Specific identified objectives of this investigation included: (1) making undercover drug purchases from Miske; and (2) obtaining Title III wire interceptions of targets involved in drug dealing (Bates 00354467). Despite these specifically identified objectives, the Government never conducted an undercover drug purchase from Miske or intercepted him on a Title III wiretap.”

#3: The third FBI investigation, which started March 26, 2008, was a joint investigation involving the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, along with the Honolulu Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service.

According to Miske’s attorneys:

The FBI effectuated controlled drug transactions. Miske was not implicated. In May and June 2012, the FBI obtained Title III wiretaps on at least two telephones, each for an initial 30-day period and a renewal. Miske was never intercepted. During this investigation, the FBI investigated Miske’s assets (Bates 00355279, 00355060), and the IRS conducted an exhaustive financial investigation, collecting at least 70 banker boxes of financial records involving Miske and his businesses (Bates 00046807, 00046923, 00048811, 00376012). These financial records did not corroborate the Government’s allegations of criminality against Miske.

#4:
The current investigation was started on March 2, 2014, and appeared to involve multiple agencies, physical as well as electronic surveillance, along with dozens of search warrants and other forms of investigation.

Miske’s attorneys stress that none of the first three investigations resulted in criminal charges against their client. However, these investigations obviously gathered evidence of his involvement in criminal activities, which explains why evidence gathered in those investigations was produced in the pre-trial process of discovery in the current case.

The trial of Miske and five remaining co-defendants is currently scheduled to begin in January.