Engineering firm
faces record fine
over donationsThe company's fine of $74,000
is the largest since
a $64,000 fine in 2002
A local engineering firm has agreed to pay a record $74,000 fine for making illegal campaign contributions to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, former Gov. Ben Cayetano and ex-Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.
The fine is one of several against state and city contractors totaling more than $130,000 set to be approved by the state Campaign Spending Commission board on Thursday.
The commission is levying the record penalty to Edward K. Noda & Associates for making more than $100,000 in excessive campaign contributions and false-name donations from 1996 though 2001.
Local engineer Randolph Murayama agreed to pay a $48,000 fine, the accounting firm of Grant Thornton LLP will pay $16,000 and the Maui firm of Tanaka Engineers Inc. agreed to a $1,000 settlement.
Noda's civil penalty tops the previous record of $64,000, levied against the local engineering firm of Geolabs Inc. in January 2002.
It also comes a month after the firm's namesake, Edward Noda, was arrested by Honolulu police on suspicion of money laundering and making campaign contributions under false names.
Bob Watada, the commission's executive director, said the company is being hit with the stiff penalty because it did not cooperate with his office's investigation.
He said that several donors linked to the engineering firm initially told the commission's investigators that they were not reimbursed by Edward K. Noda & Associates even though bank records subpoenaed by the investigators indicated otherwise.
Watada said the commission initially agreed to fine the company $53,000 in March but supplemented the fine after finding additional illegal contributions.
In the latest tally, the commission's investigators found that the firm's employees and relatives contributed $48,750 to the Harris campaign and $41,000 to the Cayetano campaign.
Workers at Edward K. Noda & Associates and their relatives also contributed $25,000 to Hirono's campaign.
Under state law a business or individuals can give no more than $4,000 to a mayoral candidate and $6,000 to candidate for governor or lieutenant governor during a four-year election cycle. They also are prohibited from making political donations under false names.
Since 2001 the commission has issued more than half a million dollars in fines against more than five dozen city and state contractors for making illegal campaign contributions.
