Suzuki accused of
conspiracy in Boulware
tax evasion caseThe charge against him is in
addition to a prior indictment
A federal grand jury has added another charge against former state Rep. Nathan Suzuki, alleging he was directly involved in one of the largest tax evasion cases prosecuted in the United States.
Suzuki was originally indicted last summer for allegedly lying on his federal income tax returns and for failing to disclose that he had control over overseas accounts linked to convicted felon Michael Boulware. In May 2002, Boulware was sentenced in U.S. District Court to four years and three months for lying on his tax returns and failing to report $10 million in personal income that he funneled from his own company for personal use. Currently, Boulware is free pending an appeal.
A superseding indictment filed against Suzuki yesterday in federal court also includes a new charge of conspiracy.
The indictment states that Suzuki knew in 1994 that Boulware was the subject of a criminal investigation by the federal government but still helped Boulware send money overseas though Suzuki's own Hong Kong-based company, Harvest International King Coffee Ltd.
According to the indictment, Suzuki helped transfer some of the money to a company in which he had controlling interest, Pacific Vendors Equipment Ltd., through accounts at the ANZ Banking Group Ltd. in the kingdom of Tonga.
Suzuki, a Democrat who formerly represented the Aliamanu-Moanalua Gardens-Moanalua Valley-Salt Lake area, and a certified public accountant, was a former comptroller for Boulware's company, Hawaiian Isles Enterprises, and prepared personal income tax returns for Boulware from 1989 to 1994.
The indictment said Suzuki transferred money into accounts in Tonga, Switzerland and elsewhere on behalf of Boulware. Suzuki also used his state Capitol fax machine to authorize some disbursements from the Tongan accounts of Pacific Vendors, the indictment alleged.
The new conspiracy charge against Suzuki reflects information that came from Boulware's trial last November.
