Judge throws out
Wong grand jury
indictments
Wong's wife and brother-in-law
are spared, as wellHolt asks dismissal
By Rick Daysog
Star-BulletinA state judge today threw out grand jury indictments against Bishop Estate trustee Richard "Dickie" Wong, his wife and his brother-in-law, in a major legal victory for the embattled board member.
Circuit Judge Michael Town ruled that the attorney general's office presented tainted testimony to the grand jury that biased its decision to indict Wong and his wife and his in-law, local developer Jeffrey Stone.
But Town stopped short of saying that prosecutors took part in flagrant misconduct and opened the door for the attorney general's office to seek a new grand jury indictment.
"The prosecutors' conduct invaded the process of the grand jury and denied the defendants a nonbiased grand jury," Town said. "If the grand jury is tainted the result is tainted."
Town said that prosectors "illegally bolstered" the testimony of former local attorney Richard Frunzi, who played a major role in the grand jury's April indictment of the Wongs and Stone.
Frunzi currently is jail on the mainland after he was convicted of federal money-laundering charges.
The indictment alleged that Wong illegally received $115,000 from Stone in exchange from preferential treatment on a Bishop Estate land deal in Hawaii Kai. Stone and his partners acquired the estate's fee interest to the 219-unit Kalele Kai condominium project in 1995.
Wong, who appeared in court with his wife Mari, welcomed the ruling, saying he hoped it was a first step in clearing his name. The former state Senate president -- who along with his fellow trustees were temporarily removed from their $1 million-a-year posts by Probate Judge Kevin Chang on May 7 -- said the ordeal has been very trying on his family.
Wong added that he believes that the ruling could strengthen his case for reinstatement as a trustee of the Bishop Estate.
"To have something like this happen to me and my family has been devastating," Wong said.
"Now is the time for healing."
Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Goya said he plans to consult with the acting Attorney General Rick Keller to see if the state would seek a new indictment. Goya in the past has said that jurors were presented with additional testimony from other witnesses that demonstrated probable cause that a crime had occurred.
Stone, meanwhile, said the ruling vindicates him, saying he plans to sue the attorney general's office for wrongful prosecution. He denied that he and his partners received preferential treatment, adding that they over paid the estate by as much as $10 million.
The ruling also has significance for the state's criminal case against trustee Henry Peters who was indicted last year for his alleged role in the same Hawaii Kai case. Renee Yuen, Peters' attorney said she plans to file a motion to dismiss the criminal charges against her client since Frunzi's testimony played a similar role in Peters' indictment.
"I really feel like I'm waking up from a nightmare," said Mari Wong, who broke into tears after the ruling.
Holt asks dismissal of
By Rick Daysog
fund indictments
Star-BulletinFormer state Sen. Milton Holt is asking a federal judge to dismiss criminal indictments that allege he diverted campaign funds for his personal use.
Reginald Minn, Holt's attorney, filed papers in federal court last week, saying the state law banning candidates' personal use of campaign funds is contradictory and overly vague.
Last October, a federal grand jury indicted Holt, a special projects officer at the Bishop Estate, for taking using more than $9,900 from his unsuccessful 1996 reelection campaign.
The grand jury in March handed down a superseding indictment that said that Holt used his campaign funds to pay for car insurance premiums and relatives' birthday and wedding parties at the Honolulu Country Club.
Minn argued state law allows candidates to use campaign funds for personal uses in certain circumstances. He believes that federal prosecutors may have misled the grand jury about the exceptions in the state law.
A hearing on the dismissal is scheduled for July 19.
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