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Probation, jail for
Ewa Villages movers

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By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

The owners of a moving company that fraudulently billed the city for work performed as part of the Ewa Villages relocations were sentenced to five years probation.

But Donald Hall Sr. was also ordered to serve one year in jail as a condition of probation.

He and his wife, Shirley Hall, were also ordered to pay total restitution of $228,000 - a portion of the $760,000 in payments they received from the city.

The Halls formerly owned a trucking business called A-1 Trucking and Equipment that leased space at Ewa Villages when they were approached by city relocations official Michael Kahapea.

Kahapea was accused as the mastermind behind a $6 million theft, where the city was billed for moves that were never performed or were done at inflated costs. The fraud is the biggest corruption case in the history of city government.

Donald Hall pleaded guilty in June 1998 to first-degree theft, forgery, money laundering and operation of an illegal business -- the first conviction in the case.

He was accused of being involved in a fixed bidding scheme where he and four other companies submitted comparable bids to move tenants from Ewa Villages and took turns as winning bidders.

Investigators found that the payments the companies received from the city for the moves were laundered through various bank accounts and funneled back to Kahapea.

According to witness testimony at trial, Kahapea took 70 percent of whatever his codefendants received.

Prosecutors said the couple submitted false invoices to the city for payment.

Shirley Hall pleaded guilty in March 1999 to first-degree theft and failure to report income.

She testified at Kahapea's trial that she cashed numerous city checks as payment for clearing lots and hauling debris in Ewa Villages -- work offered by Kahapea.

She said she was instructed to cash the city checks and withdraw a portion -- once as much as $50,000 to $60,000 -- which she turned over to her husband. Kahapea would receive sometimes 20 percent or up to half of the original amount.

She said she agreed to plead guilty to theft because she knew Kahapea was getting kickbacks for every job they did in the villages.

The city would not have paid the Halls had it known what work they had performed, said Deputy Prosecutor Randall Lee.

The Halls and their attorney could not be reached for comment.

Lee had sought probation for the Halls and a one-year jail term for Donald Hall. "Given the circumstances, Kahapea used his position to entice and manipulate these guys, but they knew it was wrong," Lee said.

Judge Wilfred Watanabe allowed Hall to remain free until his doctor could verify a medical condition.

Attorney Scott Collins, who represented the couple at yesterday's sentencing, said Hall has a heart condition that he believed would deteriorate if he is incarcerated.