First criminal City prosecutors have issued their first criminal complaint in the yearlong investigation into Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign, charging the top executives of one of the state's largest engineering firms with violating the state's campaign finance law.
complaint is filed in
campaign probe
Scope of Harris inquiry revealed
By Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.comProsecutors charged SSFM International Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Michael Matsumoto in state Circuit Court with money laundering and making false-name campaign contributions to Harris' 2000 mayoral campaign.
They also alleged in state District Court that SSFM Vice Presidents Norman Kawachika, Clayton Wong and Warren Sato and June Takushi, the wife of SSFM vice president Lee Takushi, made false-name contributions to the Harris campaign.
Sato is a former head of the planning branch of the city's public building, planning and construction division.
The campaign spending violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Money laundering is a felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in jail and a fine of as much as $25,000.
Howard Luke, Matsumoto's attorney, could not be reached for comment.
But Luke has said that Matsumoto, who surrendered to authorities last week, was cooperating with prosecutors and wanted to take responsibility for his actions.
State campaign spending records show that friends and relatives of SSFM's officers have given more than $200,000 to isle Democrats during the past six years. More than $100,000 of that went to the Harris campaign, while former Gov. Ben Cayetano's 1998 re-election bid received more than $70,000.
Under state law a donor can give no more than $4,000 to a mayoral candidate and $6,000 to a gubernatorial candidate during a four-year election cycle.
SSFM is the city's consultant for the $45 million Central Oahu Regional Park project, which has incurred millions of dollars in cost overruns. City records reviewed by the Star-Bulletin showed that SSFM's nonbid consulting contract for the sports complex soared to $3.2 million from $932,000 as a result of four amendments.
City officials have said political donations play no role in the awarding of nonbid contracts.
Campaign Spending Commission
City & County of Honolulu
