5 charged with
giving illegal
political giftsAll are connected to local
engineering firm R.M. Towill
An Oahu grand jury has indicted five people linked to local engineering firm R.M. Towill Corp., alleging they made illegal political donations to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.
The 16-member secret panel indicted Towill vice presidents Roy Tsutsui and Kenneth Sakai and its former comptroller Robert Ko yesterday on misdemeanor charges of making excessive political donations and making contributions under false names.
The grand jury also cited Big Island painting contractor Donn Mende for the same false-name and excessive-contributions violations and charged Towill comptroller Nancy Matsuno with a single count of making a false-name contribution.
"These people funneled moneys to Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign through various family members and friends," said Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee. "What's disturbing about this particular case is that the re- imbursements were in cash in order to conceal the contributions."
Prosecutors dropped charges against a sixth defendant, Ed Suzuki, after his doctor indicated Suzuki is seriously ill.
Towill officials did not return calls, and an attorney for the company declined comment.
Lee declined to discuss the specifics of the case and the amounts allegedly funneled by the parties. But a review of Harris' filings with the state Campaign Spending Commission shows the five defendants and their relatives gave more than $32,000 to the Harris campaign since 1996.
Those contributions are part of a $300,000 maze of donations linked to the Towill firm and its major subcontractors.
A study by the Star-Bulletin found that dozens of Towill employees, their relatives and friends raised more than $80,000 for the Harris campaign since 1996. The study also found that individuals linked to several of Towill's subcontractors contributed $230,000 to the Harris campaign.
Towill, one of the state's largest engineering firms, has received more than $30 million in nonbid city contracts since 1996. Harris has denied any connection between political donations and the awarding of city contracts.
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. Donors also are barred from making political donations under false names.
The misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
The indictment came after the grand jury met for two hours yesterday and heard testimony from about a dozen witnesses, including bank employees, donors and state Campaign Spending Commission Executive Director Robert Watada.
The panel's investigation into the Towill firm is ongoing.
Four of the five defendants -- Tsutsui, Sakai, Matsuno and Ko -- were arrested in July by Honolulu police on suspicion of making false-name campaign donations. Tsutsui, Sakai and Matsuno later sued the arresting officer, saying he violated their constitutional rights. The suit is pending.
The Towill firm figured in another major scandal during the tenure of former Mayor Frank Fasi. A federal grand jury indicted the engineering company's former head, Richard Towill, in 1975 for allegedly filing a false corporate tax return.
The federal indictment, based on an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, charged that Towill awarded $13,850 in bonuses in 1969 to employees who were required to make political contributions with that money to Fasi and other local politicians.
A federal court jury found Towill not guilty in 1979.
Since it began its investigation nearly two years ago, the prosecutor's office has obtained criminal charges against about a dozen contributors to the Harris campaign.
Michael Matsumoto, chief executive officer of SSFM International Inc., and Leonard Leong, a vice president of Royal Contracting Co. and a member of the Honolulu Police Commission, have pleaded no contest to making illegal campaign contributions.
The Campaign Spending Commission's parallel civil investigation has resulted in nearly $1 million in fines against more than 60 local companies and donors.
