Aki escapes jail time
but may lose Senate seat
Senator not out of the woods yet
By Richard Borrecca
Star-BulletinState Sen. James Aki is not out of trouble yet: He could still lose his Senate seat. Aki, D-21st Dist. (Nanakuli-Waianae-Makaha), yesterday was granted a defered acceptance of no-contest plea, which means he would not be convicted of felony gambling charges if his record stays clean for five years.
But Senate President Norman Mizuguchi called the charges serious and set up a five-member panel to judge Aki's fitness to remain in the Legislature.
Although Aki wants to stay in the Senate, he has not discussed it with his fellow Democrats.
Mizuguchi said the matter will have to be resolved by the time the Legislature convenes in January. Aki, a 26-year veteran of the body, could be censured, suspended or expelled from the Legislature by his colleagues.
"It is very unfortunate that these charges have been brought," Mizuguchi said yesterday at the State Capitol.
"Hopefully, Sen. Aki will have a fair and full hearing by this peer review," said Mizuguchi.
Aki leased property to a church group that used it for illegal bingo games.
Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee wanted Aki to spend 30 days in jail, pay a $10,000 fine and perform 200 hours of community service.
Lee told Circuit Judge Wilfred Watanabe that as a legislator, Aki should have known what constituted social gambling, noting that the illegal Nanakuli bingo games were "grossing $60,000 a week."
In recent years, the Senate has had three other members with legal troubles.
In 1989, former Sen. Steve Cobb was removed from his chairmanship and stripped of all benefits after pleading no-contest to criminal solicitation charges for soliciting sex from an undercover policewoman in Waikiki.
In 1991, former Sen. Milton Holt served two days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor abuse of his wife. Holt that year also was fined by the U.S. Customs Service for bringing in undeclared jewelry from Asia.
And in 1983, former Sen. Clifford Uwaine was one of 22 indicted on voter-fraud charges. Uwaine was out of office by the time he was convicted in 1986 of criminal conspiracy.
