Former Navy recycling
manager pleads guilty

A former supervisor at the Pearl Harbor recycling program has pleaded guilty to accepting $120,000 in bribes in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Navy.

Robert B.C. Aguigui, 50, entered his pleas yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Barry Kurren to four counts charged in April 24 court papers.

He is charged as a public official with three counts of receiving money in connection with an unauthorized sale of recyclable materials. He is charged in a fourth count with accepting a bribe from an undercover FBI agent in the awarding of a Navy Recycling Program contract, "bypassing the competitive bid process and understating the amount of scrap metal agreed to be provided."

From July 2000 to April 2003, Aguigui, who was responsible for soliciting bids from scrap dealers and recommending contracts for the sale of scrap metal from the Navy recycling center, engaged in "side deals" where he took bribes to sell scrap materials to two local vendors on more than two dozen occasions, then destroyed receipts of the transactions, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Butrick. Aguigui directed one vendor to make payments to a business he owned.

In six transactions from December 2002 to March 14, 2003, Aguigui also solicited money from an undercover FBI agent posing as a scrap dealer in exchange for issuing a recycling contract.

Aguigui admitted he kept the proceeds for himself.

He purchased a condo in Mililani and a time share in Las Vegas with the money, and has agreed to sell both to make restitution, Butrick said.

First assistant federal public defender Alexander Silvert said his client takes full responsibility and will do anything he can to make things right. Aguigui no longer works for the Pearl Harbor Recycling Center.

He faces a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment on each count, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release when sentenced Sept. 15.

In exchange for his plea, Aguigui has agreed to testify against others targeted in the nearly two-year investigation.

He remains free pending sentencing after posting a $25,000 signature bond.