A witness in a grand jury investigation into Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign pleaded not guilty yesterday to theft and forgery charges. Otsuka tells court
that she’s not guilty
By Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.comAppearing in state Circuit Court for her arraignment, Lisa-Katharine Otsuka and her attorney Victor Bakke said they planned to file a motion to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the statute of limitations had run out.
"We question the whole reason why these charges are brought," Bakke said. "They only got interested in her because of the Harris investigation, and they went hunting in her past for anything."
An Oahu grand jury indicted Otsuka last week on one count of second-degree theft and eight counts of forgery. The indictment said Otsuka stole $12,000 in late 1999 from her former employer Hon/Hawaii Service Inc. by forging eight company checks.
According to Bakke, prosecutors obtained the indictment after the three-year statute of limitations had expired.
Bakke also renewed charges that the prosecutor's office was using the theft and check forgery case, as well as a previous theft indictment against Otsuka, to get her to testify about the Harris campaign.
But Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee said the indictment was "rendered well within the statute of limitations" since the alleged crimes occurred in September 1999 and November 1999 and were not discovered until recently.
Lee also disputed Bakke's claim that his office is using the criminal charges to force Otsuka to testify before a grand jury investigating the Harris campaign. Otsuka has said she will not testify unless she is granted immunity.
Lee said there are a number of victims that were "ripped off" by Otsuka and, as a result, Otsuka's chances of securing an immunity deal "are slim."
"The bottom line is that the grand jury felt that the indictment was warranted," Lee said.
In addition to the criminal charges, prosecutors are trying to interview Otsuka about payments by the Harris campaign to her longtime friend Harry Mattson.
More than $75,000 in payments from the Harris campaign to Mattson's company, Campaign Service Inc., eventually wound up in Otsuka's accounts, people familiar with the prosecutor's investigation said.
