2 Harris officials An Oahu grand jury has subpoenaed a co-chairman and a top fund-raiser of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' political campaign as part of its broad criminal investigation into the awarding of city contracts to political donors.
to testify
The aides are the highest-ranking
Grand jury indicts Otsuka again
ones to be subpoenaedBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.com
The secret panel, at the direction of City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, subpoenaed Rick Tsujimura, co-chairman of Harris' 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and Peter Char, the campaign's assistant treasurer, to testify tomorrow.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Peter Char: Attorney subpoenaed to testify in a probe into the awarding of city contracts
Char and Tsujimura are the highest-ranking Harris campaign officials subpoenaed by the panel.
People contacted by the prosecutor's office said Tsujimura and Char have been called as witnesses and not as targets for criminal prosecution.
Tsujimura is out of town until next week. It was unclear when he would appear before the grand jury.
Attorneys for Char and Tsujimura declined comment. The Prosecutor's Office also had no response.
Char, 59, is an attorney specializing in medical malpractice and insurance cases and is part of Harris' inner circle.
Tsujimura, 51, is a well-known lobbyist and political strategist.
He also is a former deputy attorney general and once headed Amfac Inc.'s property development arm.
Chris Parsons, an attorney for the Harris campaign, said he doesn't know what prosecutors will ask Char and Tsujimura.
Parsons said the campaign has abided by the law and that many Harris supporters have been "victims of an unfair" effort to discredit their reputations.
The investigative grand jury, which was convened in September, has recently focused on two key city projects: the $23 million Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park and the $45 million Central Oahu Regional Park.
The Star-Bulletin previously reported that the two projects have had a number of construction change orders that have added million of dollars in costs.
City contractors that helped design the two city projects -- SSFM International Inc. and Stringer Tusher Architects -- are linked to tens of thousands of dollars in allegedly illegal campaign contributions to the Harris campaign.
Harris had been the Democratic front-runner for this year's election until he dropped out of the race May 30.
He has said that there is no connection between political donations and the awarding of city contracts.
The Harris administration has said that it implemented a rigorous contract selection process that eliminated political influence.
City & County of Honolulu
