Harris donors want
cases movedTowill workers argue that their
trials should be in District Court
Political donors indicted by an Oahu grand jury for making illegal political donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris have asked the state Supreme Court to intervene in their cases.
Employees and associates of the engineering firm of R.M. Towill Corp. filed a writ of mandamus on Thursday requesting that the Supreme Court reassign their cases to state District Court for trial.
Attorney Carl Varady also asked the high court to place a stay on all court proceedings involving the criminal cases.
The writ was filed several days before the donors are scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Dan Kochi to enter their pleas on charges that they made excessive political donations and made campaign contributions under false names.
It also represents the latest legal challenge on behalf of Towill's employees. In September, Towill executives Roy Tsutsui, Kenneth Sakai and Nancy Matsuno sued Honolulu police Maj. Dan Hanagami, alleging he violated their constitutional rights when he arrested them on the suspicion of making illegal political donations.
In his court papers, Varady argued that Kochi erred when he ruled last Monday that the Towill employees and their associates must stand trial in Circuit Court.
Varady said that the District Court is the correct venue for defendants who waive their right to a jury trial, as his clients had done.
Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee had no comment yesterday. But in last week's court proceedings, Lee argued that the Circuit Court was the correct venue because the case was initiated in the Circuit Court.
Lee previously questioned whether the defense was attempting to "forum shop" for "a particular situation involving a particular judge that may be a little lenient to these cases."
In addition to the Towill executives, the Oahu grand jury also indicted former Towill comptroller Robert Ko, architect John Adversalo, building materials supplier Daniel Rosario, Towill associate Donn Mende, his brother Jay and his mother, Masae.
Jay Mende is the Hawaii County deputy clerk in charge of running elections on the Big Island.
If convicted, the donors face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 for each count.
The donors are among the dozens of Towill employees, subcontractors and friends that are targets of the prosecutor's two-year investigation into the Harris campaign.
A study by the Star-Bulletin in October linked Towill and its subcontractors to more than $300,000 in political donations to the Harris campaign since 1996. The Towill firm, one of the state's largest engineering firms, received more than $30 million in nonbid city work during the same period.
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. Contributors also are barred from giving money to political candidates under false names.