Delia Fabro-Miske’s plea agreement seems to have been a last minute deal, although I suppose putting it on the record with such short notice could have been a strategic move by the attorneys.

Notice of the hearing was posted just 47 minutes before it was to begin. And the 9 a.m. start time displaced the morning session scheduled for jury selection in the Miske case, which began on Monday.

My story about the plea deal was posted at Civil Beat around 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.

“Miske’s Daughter-In-Law Agrees To ‘Fully Cooperate’ In Last-Minute Plea Deal / Delia Fabro-Miske’s agreement with prosecutors leaves only two defendants in the federal trial as jury selection continues”

Was this a surprise to the Mike Miske and John Stancil? Up until this point, they had been proceeding with a joint defense.

The same question can be asked of Jason Yokoyama’s plea two weeks ago. Did the others have advance notice?

I thought John Stancil would have cut a deal before this. He’s 36, and still has some life to look forward to. And he took a plea at least once in a case where he and his brother, Mike Miske, were both charged. That case involved felony assault charges stemming from the December 15, 2012 assault on promoter Michael Galmiche and his partner on the street outside Waterfront Plaza in downtown Honolulu, where Miske’s M Nightclub was located.

Galmiche set up to advertise a New Year’s Eve event to patrons leaving Miske’s club at closing time. Miske responded by bringing a group of his bouncers, beating Galmiche and destroying his computer and other electronic equipment.

The felony assault charges against Miske are still pending in state court, but were put on hold pending resolution of the federal case. Stancil pled to misdemeanor assault several years ago, leaving Mike to go to trial alone.

I suspected the same thing to occur in the federal case. There’s no way Stancil could get a deal without copping to felony charges, but he could potentially cut his prison time appreciably by cooperating, even at this late date.

At this point, eleven of Miske’s twelve co-defendants have pleaded guilty.

In addition, another group of at least defendants associated with the Miske Enterprise but charged separately.

Most of those who have pled out are cooperating with prosecutors and are included on the witness list and expected to testify at the trial.