Category Archives: Crime

What happens to Miske’s Portlock luxury home and other assets?

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It seems almost certain that the original indictment of Mike Miske, along with the three superseding indictments that expanded both the charges and the list of co-defendants, will soon be “vacated” or set-aside due to his death prior to sentencing and appeal, along with the government’s seizure an estimated $25 million or more of Miske’s personal and business property and assets.

Miske’s defense counsel filed a motion just a week after his death in December, and prosecutors have agreed that the law requires that the indictment’s disappear. Vacating the indictments as to Miske will not affect the convictions of nearly 20 co-defendants and associates who pleaded guilty prior to trial.

So what happens to Miske’s Portlock mansion valued for tax purposes at $7.5 million, along with a Kailua home, $4.3 million in cash and cashier’s checks, collectible cars (including a 2017 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta), art work, and other assets?

Contrary to conspiracy theories floating around, all this property will not automatically be returned to his family when the indictments, and his convictions, are voided.

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Miske’s criminal case enters its final stage

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What does the case of Mike Mike, the former owner of Kamaaina Termite and other Honolulu businesses, have in common with that of Kenneth Lay, the founder and CEO of Enron, the Texas-based energy company that collapsed in 2001 in what at the time was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history?

Quite a lot, it seems.

Lay was convicted in 2006 on 10 counts of fraud and related offenses tied to the corporate bookkeeping shenanigans that led to the Enron collapse, and faced criminal forfeiture of millions worth of his personal assets. But Lay died of a heart attack in 2006, a few months before he was scheduled to be sentenced and before a planned appeal had been filed.

Michael J. Miske, Jr., was convicted last July by a federal jury on 13 counts of racketeering, as well as murder, kidnapping and related offenses. The same jury said an estimated $25 million in cash, real property, and other assets should be forfeited to the government because they were obtained, at least on part, with proceeds of Miske’s criminal activity. And, like Lay, Miske died in December 2024, weeks before he was to be sentenced.

Both deaths, having occurred prior to sentencing and before their appeals could be pursued, implicated the legal doctrine of abatement ab initio, which requires the criminal charges to be vacated, or cancelled, because the defendants had not been able to exercise their right to appeal.

Federal prosecutors agree with Miske’s defense counsel that the indictments naming him must be vacated as a matter of law, but that isn’t the end of the matter.

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Miske’s brother gets the maximum sentence

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John Stancil, Mike Miske’s younger half-brother, was sentenced Tuesday to 20-years in federal prison for his role in Miske’s racketeering organization.

Stancil, 37, had been charged with multiple offenses but pleaded guilty to a single count of racketeering conspiracy in a last-minute deal with prosecutors. The plea deal was made public on the same morning he and Miske had been scheduled to begin their trial. Stancil was the last of Miske’s 12 co-defendants to plead guilty.

Although prosecutors agreed to drop the additional charges in exchange for Stancil’s plea, he admitted to taking part in at least one murder-for-hire plot in 2016 that targeted a Waimanalo man Miske believed was cooperating with law enforcement.

Stancil also took credit for introducing Miske to Jake Smith, who subsequently was paid to carry out multiple assaults directed by Miske. During several of those assaults, Stancil admitted he had served as the getaway driver.

In 2017, Stancil and another man, Dayson Kaae, entered Aloha Tattoo in Kailua. Kaae proceeded to assault the owner while Stancil recorded the fight on his cell phone. During the struggle, Kaae was stabbed. He and Stancil fled to a car parked outside where Jake Smith and two others were waiting. Stancil and the others then ran from the scene, leaving Kaae behind. He was pronounced dead later that evening.

He also admitted releasing the chemical chloropicrin in a crowded Waikiki nightclub in 2015, and two years later assisting other Miske associates in similar chemical attacks on two other nightclubs that competed with a club owned by Miske. Stancil said all these chemical attacks were directed by Miske.

Although Stancil was heavily involved in Miske’s criminal activities, trial testimony indicated Miske manipulated him into doing “stupid shit,” using a combination of family pressure, monetary rewards, and public humiliation to overcome Stancil’s frequent reluctance.

Stancil’s 20-year sentence is the longest handed down so far to Miske’s co-defendants and associates. In October, Jake Smith received a 121-month sentence, while several others have received sentences of about three years.

See:

On the eve of trial, Stancil flips, and Miske requests a new jury, iLind.net, 1/22/2024

Stancil plea does not include cooperation or testimony, iLind.net, 1/22/2024

Video shows robbery of BVNK store by Miske crew, iLind.net, 4/12/2024

Testimony ties Miske to deadly incident at Kailua tattoo shop, iLind.net, 4/25/2024

Deadly incident in a Kailua tattoo shop: Part 2–The getaway, iLind.net, 5/13/2024