Woman faces campaign
chargeThe suspect's husband was fined
in October for illegal donations
to Mayor Jeremy Harris
City prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the wife of a local engineering executive for allegedly making illegal political donations to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.
In a complaint filed in state District Court on Wednesday, prosecutors alleged that Lori Okamoto exceeded the $4,000 contribution limit and gave money under false names to the Harris campaign.
The charges are misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail.
Okamoto could not be reached for immediate comment. She is the wife of Gary Okamoto, who heads the local engineering firm Wilson Okamoto & Associates Inc.
Last October, the state Campaign Spending Commission fined Gary Okamoto $44,500 for funneling illegal political donations to the Harris campaign.
The commission alleged that Gary and Lori Okamoto gave more than $29,000 in illegal political donations to the Harris campaign through several friends. The commission also said that the couple made $22,800 in false-name contributions to Gov. Ben Cayetano's campaign and $14,000 to ex-Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono's campaign.
The Okamotos also laundered $10,000 in political donations to former Honolulu Councilman Arnold Morgado, the commission said.
The friends listed as Harris donors included First Hawaiian Bank executive Kent Iboshi, First Hawaiian bank teller Leona Nishimura and insurance executive Janice Fukuda. All three recently pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of making improper donations to the Harris campaign.
Under state law, donors are prohibited from making political donations under false names. They also can give no more than $4,000 to a mayoral candidate during a four-year election cycle.
City records show that Wilson Okamoto & Associates has received more than $17 million in nonbid design and consulting work during the past decade.
During the past two years, city prosecutors have brought charges against more than a dozen city contractors in their wide-ranging investigation into the Harris campaign. Over the same period, the Campaign Spending Commission has issued more than $1 million in civil fines against several dozen firms that made illegal donations to the Harris campaign.