Mansho admits Former City Councilwoman Rene Mansho pleaded guilty to theft this morning and agreed to pay an additional $25,000 in restitution for misusing campaign funds and directing her Council staff to perform campaign activities on city time.
to theft
The former Council member agrees
to pay an additional $25,000By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comBut the plea was not entered pending a motion for a deferral of the guilty plea.
How much time she will have to spend in jail will be determined at her sentencing on June 26 and 27. Judge Gail Nakatani said that the state is free to argue for the maximum 10-year sentence, but under the agreement will not ask for an extended or consecutive terms.
In return for the additional restitution, the state will not pursue further charges of second-degree forgery, RICO charges and money laundering.
Mansho, 52, wore a black suit rather than her usual flowery muumuu when she was arraigned before Nakatani.
Mansho told the court, "I was charged with the use of my city staff for non-city business, during city time. As the elected councilmember of the office, I am taking the responsibility."
Prosecutors alleged Mansho stole more than $20,000 in city funds between April 1, 1989, and Dec. 31, 2000, and more than $300 from the Friends of Rene Mansho between Jan. 1, 1994, and Aug. 31, 2000.
The former councilwoman for the North Shore-Waipahu district resigned her Council seat on April 10.
The state Campaign Spending Commission fined Mansho $40,000 last year for misspending campaign funds. The city Ethics Commission also found her in violation of misusing her Council staff time and fined her $40,000.
Mansho is a former schoolteacher and Wahiawa native. She had been on the Council since October 1988.
City & County of Honolulu
