Otsuka indicted
in fund-raiser theft

The Harris campaign
probe subject allegedly
stole from a nonprofit

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By Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.com

An Oahu grand jury has indicted a former Maui beauty queen who has become a focus of city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's investigation into Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.

The secret panel yesterday charged Lisa Katherine Otsuka with second-degree theft for allegedly taking several thousand dollars from a benefit conducted by a Wahiawa-based nonprofit group for at-risk youths.

Lisa Otsuka, in the1986 Baldwin High School Yearbook.

The indictment is not related to Otsuka's Sept. 9 arrest for failing to appear before a separate Oahu grand jury hearing into the Harris campaign.

Circuit Judge Dan Kochi yesterday issued a bench warrant for Otsuka's arrest and set her bail at $50,000.

If convicted, Otsuka faces up to five years in jail and a fine of $10,000.

Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee alleged that Otsuka "stole" money from a nonprofit group called Manutahi, which organized an April 1, 2001, fund-raiser at the Ocean Club for middle school and high school students from disadvantaged families.

Manutahi, which promotes Tahitian and Hawaiian dance and music, held the fund-raiser to pay for the students' travel to the neighbor islands for a dance competition.

"Her involvement with the group is that she had volunteered her services to assist the group, but instead of assisting the group, she stole the group's money," Lee said.

Otsuka could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, Michael J. Green, said he was not familiar the specifics of the indictment but criticized Otsuka's $50,000 bail as excessive.

"It's like killing a flea with an elephant," Green said. "It's unfortunate that she has caught the attention of Mr. Lee. I believe he has a special place in his heart for her."

Otsuka, 32, was arrested Sept. 9 for failing to appear at a grand jury hearing earlier this month. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating more than $75,000 in expenditures by the Harris campaign that wound up in Otsuka's bank account.

The 1987 Baldwin High School graduate is a former Miss Maui, but was stripped of the title when pageant organizers raised questions about her high school transcripts.

Harris said he does not know Otsuka. His attorney, William McCorriston, declined comment on yesterday's indictment, saying it is unrelated to the Harris campaign.