Former state housing
chief faces 5 years
in Harris probe

A former state housing official pleaded no contest yesterday to a felony charge of laundering donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.

Wesley Segawa, a past chairman of the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii, also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of making a political donation under a false name.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins scheduled a March 16 sentencing hearing.

The 52-year-old Segawa, president of Hilo-based Wesley Segawa & Associates Inc., had no comment as he left the courtroom yesterday.

His attorney, Darwin Ching, told the court that Segawa would be asking for a deferral of his no-contest plea at his sentencing. A deferral would give Segawa the opportunity to have his criminal case dismissed if he stays out of trouble for a year.

Segawa faces up to five years in jail for the felony money-laundering charge and up to a year in jail for the false-name contribution charge.

Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee said he will oppose the deferral due to the seriousness of the infractions. According to Lee, Segawa contributed more than $60,000 to the Harris campaign through relatives and friends on the Big Island.

A conviction would deter future campaign spending violations since Segawa could lose his license to practice as an engineer, Lee said.

The Housing and Community Development Corp. oversees the state's public housing program.

Segawa resigned from the state post in 2002 after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development criticized the state agency's former director, Sharyn Miyashiro, for awarding an $800,000 nonbid contract to a company headed by her ex-husband, Dennis Mitsunaga.

Mitsunaga, who is the target of investigations by the prosecutor's office and the state Campaign Spending Commission, is a relative of Segawa's.

In July 2003 the Campaign Spending Commission fined Segawa $53,000 for funneling more than $80,000 to several prominent local Democrats.

In a related matter, a local donor pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of making illegal political donations to the Harris campaign.

Perkins scheduled a March 14 trial for Leigh Anne Quan before Circuit Judge Rhonda Nishimura.