STAR-BULLETIN / AUGUST 2001
Janice Kakugawa pled guilty in August to accepting bribes
from Ala Wai golfers for preferred tee times. She was sentenced
yesterday to five years probation and fined.

Former city employee
sentenced for golf bribes

She gets fines and probation for
setting aside prime tee times

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By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

A former city employee at Ala Wai Golf Course was sentenced to five years probation for accepting bribes from golfers in exchange for preferred tee times.

Under a plea agreement, starter Janice Kakugawa, 55, is also banned from playing at all the city's six golf courses during that period.

Kakugawa was one of three people charged in a 12-count indictment involving bribes that occurred from April to May 2000. Kakugawa worked for the city for 22 years and was subsequently fired.

The city's investigation revealed Kakugawa received $5 per person in exchange for choice tee times, circumventing the city's automated phone-in reservation system and the daily waiting list. The practice occurred multiple times on the days she worked, according to prosecutors. Those without reservations must sometimes wait between three to six hours for a tee time.

Kakugawa, as part of her sentence, was also fined $15,000, $10,000 of which was due yesterday, with the remaining balance to be paid within five years. She must also write a letter of apology that will be posted publicly at the golf course and perform 250 hours of community service.

Earlier this month, Yong Cha Toyomura, a golfer, was also sentenced to five years probation, fined $2,000 and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service for offering Kakugawa bribes.

The case against Lawrence Helekahi, a clerk at Ala Wai who was indicted along with Kakugawa and Toyomura, is still pending.