The Miske trial started Monday with opening statements as scheduled, after Federal Judge Derrick Watson denied a defense motion to dismiss this jury and begin jury selection all over again.

Tuesday was the first day of testimony.

In an interesting strategy, the government began with evidence of the October 2017 kidnapping and assault of an accountant. This appears as Count 11 in the third superseding indictment.

Count 11
Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping Using
a Facility of Interstate Commerce
(18 U.S.C. § 1201(c))

29. In or about October 2017, within the District of Hawaii, MICHAEL J. MISKE, JR., aka “Bro,” and PRESTON M. KIMOTO, the defendants, and others known and unknown, did willfully and knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other to unlawfully and willfully seize, confine, inveigle, decoy, kidnap, abduct, carry away, and hold for ransom, reward, and otherwise another person (“Victim-3”), which conspiracy would and did use a means, facility, and instrumentality of interstate commerce, that is, cellular telephones operating on interstate networks.

30. In furtherance of the conspiracy, and to effect the object thereof, the following overt acts, among others, were committed within the District of Hawaii:

a. On or about October 17, 2017, two co-conspirators not charged herein (the “CCs”), acting on the instructions of MICHAEL J. MISKE, aka “Bro,” the defendant, kidnapped Victim-3 in Honolulu, Hawaii and restrained him/her in their vehicle.

b. On or about October 17, 2017, while Victim-3 was restrained, PRESTON M. KIMOTO, the defendant, met with the CCs to discuss the situation. All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1201(c).

Preston Kimoto subsequently pleaded guilty to assisting in arranging the kidnapping. His plea came after he was arrested for witness tampering.

Tuesday’s court session started slowly and was, frankly, pretty boring, as prosecutors introduced several police officers and evidence technicians who had worked on the case, established their credentials by walking each through their training, education, and experience, as well as the procedures that they had used, finally introducing several documents as exhibits. But the jury got an earful when the victim of the kidnapping, Seung Ji Robert Lee, a 78-year old accountant, took the witness stand to describe his ordeal.

A lot is known about this incident because the three defendants who took part, including two who kidnapped and assaulted Lee, have previously pleaded guilty. Preston Kimoto, a manager for Kamaaina Termite, said he had approached Miske and asked if he could help a friend, whose family was looking for a way to recover about $900,000 lost in a business deal with Lee. Wayne Miller and Jonah Ortiz admitted to luring Lee to Kewalo Basin, then holding him for several hours as they demanded he turn over the money, which Lee said he didn’t have.

So far, the testimony in court has not linked the kidnapping directly to Miske, and his lead defense attorney, Michael Kennedy, told Civil Beat “that Miske was not involved and the two men had no connection,” apparently referring to Lee, the kidnapping victim, and Lee.

But by placing this incident first in their trial strategy, it appears prosecutors are confident they will be able to make the connection to Miske, drawing on testimony of three who have made deals, additional testimony from other witnesses, as well as text messages, phone calls, photos, and other information extracted from cell phones, along with records of electronic surveillance, will be introduced to buttress the testimony of the three involved.

Perhaps that explains why this is being used to lead off the trial. It’s a kidnapping that doesn’t appear to involve Miske, but prosecutors appear confident they will be able to connect the dots and, in the process, show the jury how Miske was able to stay out of sight and behind the scenes while allegedly directing this and other crimes.

Civil Beat’s Madeleine Valera has a good story about Tuesday’s court session (“Miske Trial: Honolulu Accountant Testifies About 2017 Kidnapping“).

Also see several of my earlier stories that included details about this kidnapping and assault:

“Latest Plea Deal In Miske Case Reveals New Details About 2017 Kidnapping / Preston Kimoto is the seventh of Mike Miske’s original 10 co-defendants to plead guilty and flip on their former boss,” Civil Beat, July 24, 2023.

“Back Behind Bars: Miske Co-Defendant Faces New Allegation Of Witness Tampering,” Civil Beat, April 6, 2023.

(“More Tales Of Crime And Violence As 2 More Caught Up In Miske Murder Case / Court records reveal two more men who are cooperating with federal authorities in the case against a Honolulu businessman charged with running a criminal enterprise“), November 30, 2020.