Company fined $78,500
for illegal campaign gifts
The state Campaign Spending Commission has approved a $78,500 fine against a local engineering firm that gave more than $250,000 to several local politicians.
By a 5-0 vote yesterday, the commission also upheld a $12,000 fine against a Hilo company that made excessive political contributions to former Big Island Mayor Stephen Yamashiro's campaign.
Bob Watada, the commission's executive director, recommended the $78,500 fine against Engineers Surveyors Hawaii Inc. because donors linked to the company "were less than truthful" about whether they were reimbursed by the company.
"There were a large number of false-name contributions made by this company through friends, relatives and employees," Watada said.
A commission investigation found that Engineers Surveyors' employees, their friends and their relatives made more than $250,000 in political donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris, former Gov. Ben Cayetano, gubernatorial candidate D.G. "Andy" Anderson, former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, former Honolulu City Councilman Mufi Hannemann and ex-Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana.
Harris received $96,100 from people linked to the firm, followed by Hannemann, who raised $45,800 from Engineers Surveyors' employees and their relatives, the commission said.
Cayetano received $38,500 while Anderson received $33,750. Hirono raised $27,200 from people linked to the company, and Apana received $10,000, the commission said.
Wendell Choy, Engineers Surveyors attorney, said company President Kendall Hee was going along with a practice that was established by his father, who founded the company nearly 40 years ago. The company recently put a halt to the practice.
Last December, Hee pleaded no contest to criminal charges that he made false-name and excessive political donations to the Harris campaign.
A state judge later fined him $3,000 and ordered him to do 90 hours of community service.
The commission also approved a $12,000 fine against Hilo Engineering Inc., which made more than two dozen false-name contributions totaling $22,000 to Yamashiro between 1995 and 1999.
Like Engineers Surveyors, Hilo Engineering made the contributions through several employees, friends and relatives, the company said.
Under state law, donors can give no more than $4,000 for a mayoral race and $6,000 for a gubernatorial race during a four-year election cycle. They also are barred from making donations in the name of others.
In a separate matter, the commission agreed to give local engineer Michael Matsumoto five years to pay off his record $303,000 fine.
Matsumoto, chief executive officer of SSFM International Inc., originally agreed to pay the fine in three years but said the monthly $8,000 payments were becoming a hardship to him. The new terms will reduce his monthly payments to $5,000.
The commission has alleged that SSFM illegally funneled more than $400,000 to various Democratic candidates, including Harris, Cayetano and Apana.
