Man linked to city
scam sentenced

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By Debra Barayuga
dbargayuga@starbulletin.com

A friend of convicted city housing official Michael Kahapea was sentenced this week to a five-year term similar to probation for submitting false invoices for relocations that were never performed.

Circuit Judge Wilfred Watanabe granted Richard Chung's request Wednesday to defer his guilty plea to first-degree theft, forgery and money laundering charges for a five-year period.

If Chung complies with the court-ordered conditions, he could request that the conviction be erased from his record.

Chung was contracted to move a meat-packing company from Middle Street in the early 1990s. Chung and Shiro Aoki, who both headed RC Movers, received several checks from Kahapea, cashed them and kicked back a portion to Kahapea and his friends, prosecutors said.

William Harrison, Chung's attorney, said his client led an exemplary life until this incident, and he and his family has suffered shame and humiliation because of it.

Chung repaid the city $69,000 in 1999, an amount he received from the $600,000 paid in the Middle Street relocation. He agreed to testify at Kahapea's trial but was not called.

Kahapea was sentenced to a 50-year sentence for stealing from the city's Ewa Villages relocation project. He was also sentenced to a concurrent 10 years for stealing from three other city projects, including Middle Street.