By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Former city housing worker Michael Kahapea and his attorney,
Renee Yuen, said he would turn himself in today after discussing
supervisors' influence in the relocation scheme. Prosecutors say
Kahapea is the mastermind behind the Ewa Villages moving
scheme that cost the city thousands of dollars.
Ewa defendant
says he acted
under orders
Michael Kahapea said,
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
‘I was instructed by my
supervisor to process false
billing statements’
Star-BulletinA fired city housing employee said this morning that while he may have participated in wrongdoing in the Ewa Villages revitalization project, he was instructed to do so by supervisors.
However, Michael Kahapea refused to name the supervisors who were involved.
"I saw how those above me requested money each year from the City Council for relocation, and then had me use these funds to hire contractors to do the cleanup, maintenance, construction of roads and rehabilitation of temporary homes in the village," Kahapea said, reading from a prepared statement.
"I was instructed by my supervisor to process false billing statements and to get the job done without asking too many questions."
Kahapea's attorney, Renee Yuen, said specific information would be provided during trial.
Kahapea said he is afraid the abolishment of the city housing department may end up covering up wrongdoing by others at Ewa Villages.
Kahapea did not deny wrongdoing of his own, but again refused to go into details other than to say, "I'm sorry if I let my family, my children, my friends, my coworkers and especially the public down."
"I hope this will be the beginning of all of us working together to have the whole truth come out," he added.
Kahapea said he would turn himself in to legal authorities this afternoon.
Prosecutors say Kahapea was the mastermind behind the
scheme, in which moving companies were set up by Kahapea's friends and relatives to accept relocation money for jobs that were never done or done at inflated costs.
Kahapea is being charged with 47 counts of theft, forgery, unlawful ownership of a business, money-laundering, bribery and failure to report income.
A bench warrant has been issued for Kahapea's arrest with bail set at $460,000. Yuen said he would not be able to post bail.
Seven others were also indicted by an Oahu grand jury last week.
In Circuit Court yesterday, one of the seven won a battle for supervised release while three others were arraigned.
Judge Elizabeth Marks granted supervised release for Claude Hebaru, who prosecutors say took in more than $2 million for false or fraudulent relocation moves.
Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Young argued unsuccessfully that Hebaru's $315,000 bail amount should have been maintained because he is a danger to the community and is a flight risk.
Hebaru's wife, Lorna, is to be her husband's supervisor.
That, Young said, was a bad idea because she did not know that her husband was paying a $1,200-a-month mortgage for the home of another woman with whom he has had a child.
Questioned by Young whether the revelations bothered her, Lorna Hebaru said: "It bothers me but it doesn't affect me on this motion (for supervised release)."
Supporting his extramarital affair was a major reason Hebaru became part of the scheme, Young said. He said the woman is on the payroll of Hebaru's legitimate Pest Management - Hawaii Co., receiving $1,000 a month, but she doesn't actually work for the company.
David Gierlach, Hebaru's attorney, said after the hearing that details of the alleged affair were irrelevant and "a cheap shot."
He described Hebaru as "at worst, a white heart with an empty head" who did as city officials told him to do. Hebaru believed that his Titan Moving and Hauling Co. was set up to subcontract others to make relocations.
Three other defendants pleaded not guilty yesterday.
Donna Hashimoto-Abelaye posted $33,000 bail, David Brian Kaahaaina, $23,000 bail and Steven Swift, $1,000 bail.
Three others have been indicted on charges in the Ewa Villages case. Former city housing official Norman Tam was in Oahu Community Correctional Center yesterday, unable to post $330,000 bail. Russell J. Williams and Donald Hall Sr. had not turned themselves in as of this morning.
Star-Bulletin reporter Mary Adamski
contributed to this report.
Ewa Villages deal
attracts state agencyHawaiian Home Lands says securing
By Craig Gima
federal housing funds is the key
Star-BulletinPart of the city's Ewa Villages housing project could become homes for native Hawaiians if talks between the city and state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands are successful.
"The idea is to try and develop areas with existing infrastructure already in place. If the price is right, then we'll seriously consider it," said Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Kali Watson.
There have been preliminary talks between the city and the state, and the department is now awaiting a response from the city, Watson said.
"As far as I'm concerned, this could be a wonderful partnership if things could be worked out," said City Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann, who has been pushing the idea for the past year.
Last month, the labor organization Unity House backed out of a $5.7 million deal to help bail out the troubled revitalization project.
Some $1.9 million in federal housing funds was supposed to pay part of the price.
Unity House had planned to build multifamily and affordable senior rental units on 24 acres of land behind Ewa Elementary School.
"If Unity House didn't back out, I wouldn't have broached the subject again," Hannemann said.
He said when he first proposed the idea last year, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris was still considering a run for governor and there was a suspicion on both sides about a city and state partnership.
Watson said a key to the deal would be the availability of federal housing funds.
"We know we qualify," Watson said. "The federal funds are there, especially for this coming fiscal year."
When asked about the possible purchase Friday, Gov. Ben Cayetano said he was not sure if the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands had enough money to purchase the property this year, but it may be something to look at next year.
"I know Kali has been talking about this for a while; one of the problems is that when Ewa Village had all of its problems, we decided to step back," Cayetano said. "In addition to that, there is a concern that we had about what we felt was some environmental problems in some of the lots."
Deputy Health Director Bruce Anderson said the state investigated a possible problem associated with a former pesticide storage area in the middle of the project.
Anderson said soil samples showed no surface contamination, but the Health Department is continuing to investigate.
Hannemann said a state purchase of part of the project is "not the ultimate panacea, but in terms of fixing one part of the problem there, to me it's the best solution that we have."
He said he hopes the city will offer the state a reasonable price for the land.
"Let's not get greedy here and foist it (the project's financial problems) on the back of Hawaiian Homes," he said.
"Half a malassada is better than no malassada at all."
