The speaker of the state House of Representatives is asking law enforcement officials to investigate allegations that an unnamed state lawmaker accepted $35,000 in campaign contributions in January 2022 during a federal public corruption probe.
That probe ended the public service careers and led to federal prison sentences for ex-state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and ex-state House Committee on Finance vice-chair Ty J.K. Cullen.
English and Cullen both pleaded guilty in February 2022 to a single count of wire fraud for accepting cash in envelopes, Las Vegas hotel rooms, dinners for Tahitian friends, casino chips and access to high-stakes gambling in New Orleans. In exchange, the two lawmakers worked to manipulate and kill legislation to benefit a Honolulu wastewater company.
The investigation also revealed that the former director of the Maui County Department of Environmental Management took more than $2 million in bribes in exchange for steering sole source contracts to the same Honolulu wastewater company Cullen and English were bribed by. Stewart Olani Stant pleaded guilty Sept. 19, 2023, to a single count of conspiracy to deprive the public of the right to honest services and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Feb. 8, 2023.
English was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and Cullen got 24 months in one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Hawaii’s history.
In letters sent Friday to acting U.S. Attorney for Hawaii Ken Sorenson and state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez, state House Speaker Nadine K. Nakamura asked about the investigation into the unnamed state lawmaker.
“Given the seriousness of these allegations, the cloud this placed over the entire state Legislature since 2022, and the public’s interest in transparency and accountability, I respectfully request clarification on the following: Is the federal investigation referenced in the March 24, 2023, filing still active? Would parallel investigations by state authorities complement or potentially interfere with your office’s work?,” wrote Nakamura in her Nov. 7 letter to Sorenson. “I appreciate your attention to this matter and your office’s commitment to upholding the integrity of our public institutions.”
Cullen made consensually recorded telephone calls and recorded in-person meetings with “investigative subjects of our public corruption investigation,” according to a May 18, 2023, federal court filing detailing how Cullen helped the FBI.
“On January 20, 2022, (Cullen) met with the same subject of the investigation, along with an influential state legislator, and recorded a conversation that provided further helpful information to the investigative team,” authorities wrote in the May filing. “During the meeting the subject provided the state legislator with approximately $35,000 in funds that were purportedly to be used in an existing campaign.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office declined to disclose the identity of the lawmaker referenced in the filing.The bribery offense referenced in a different section of that filing is unrelated to the $35,000 transaction Cullen witnessed.
“Frequently our investigations take substantial time, and patience, and the potential success of our efforts, the privacy interests of uncharged persons, and the sources and methods at play require our continued discretion in this matter,” Sorenson told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “Both the English and Cullen cases required substantial investigative time, and the related Stewart Stant bribery case required several years from start to finish.”
Sorenson indicated that he would be engaging with Nakamura regarding her letter.
According to the state Campaign Spending Commission, donors are limited to giving $2,000 to a candidate seeking nomination or election to a two-year office or to a candidate committee.
Donations to a candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-year non-statewide office are capped at $4,000. Contributions to a candidate seeking nomination or election to a four-year statewide office are limited to $6,000 during an election period.
In her letter to Lopez, Nakamura wrote that given the “seriousness of the allegations and the potential involvement of a current member of the Legislature, I respectfully request that your office review the attached filing, and any other available data, to determine whether any Hawaii state laws may have been violated,” wrote Nakamura.
“I recognize that a federal investigation may still be ongoing, and my request is not intended to interfere with or duplicate federal efforts. However, if warranted, I ask that you consider initiating an appropriate investigation or referral to the relevant division within your department, in coordination with federal authorities as necessary,” said Nakamura.
Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the state Department of the Attorney General, told the Star-Advertiser that the public can report corruption, fraud and economic crime using the Submit a Tip feature on the Special Investigation and Prosecution Division website ag.hawaii.gov/sipd/tips.
“The Department of the Attorney General will not make statements to confirm or deny the existence of investigations. We have no further comment on this matter,” said Schwartz.
After he was caught by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation taking bribes from the late waster water systems executive Milton J. Choy, Cullen took part in “proactive investigative techniques,” according to federal court records.
Choy was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and died in custody.
Nakamura’s letters to federal and state law enforcement leaders was spurred by the efforts of former federal public defender Alexander Silvert, who is petitioning lawmakers to force the unmasking and prosecution of the recipient and donor involved in the $35,000 transaction.
In a statement to the Star-Advertiser, Silvert noted that the government’s May 2023 filing said that Cullen’s cooperation resulted in a “chargeable bribery offense.”
“However, to date no charges have been filed by the FBI and the name of the legislator who accepted the $35,000 remains unknown. While the FBI’s investigation may or may not still be active, nothing prevents state authorities from conducting their own independent investigation into this transaction,” said Silvert.
The five-year statute of limitations to bring criminal charges or ethical violations ends in January of 2027, Silvert said, and if no one in state authority “will take this seriously, then it is up to us, the ordinary citizens of Hawaii, to act.”
Hawaii legislative rules permit any citizen to file a petition asking lawmakers to impanel a committee with “subpoena and contempt powers” to investigate this transaction and Silvert started a petition to make it happen.
The petition, entitled “Restore Public Trust — Investigate the Unknown Hawaii Legislator,” had 613 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
Source: The Garden Island
Be First to Comment