Bar bribes land
3 men in prison

Former city liquor workers are
sentenced for roles in a scam

Harvey Hiranaka: The prosecution argued that he acted as an organizer of the enterprise

A former night shift supervisor for the Honolulu Liquor Commission was sentenced yesterday to five years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for accepting bribes as part of a "culture of corruption" that federal prosecutors say has pervaded the agency for many years.

Harvey Hiranaka, 58, was one of three former liquor investigators sentenced by Chief Judge David Ezra on charges of federal racketeering, conspiracy and extortion.

Eduardo Mina, 74, who was convicted by a federal jury along with Hiranaka a year ago, was ordered to serve five years and five months, the longest term imposed on seven of eight investigators sentenced thus far. Mina must also serve three years of supervised release.

Arthur Andres, 62, a retired policeman who pleaded guilty on the day of trial, was sentenced to three years and five months' imprisonment and two years of supervised release.

The three defendants and five other investigators were named in a 57-count indictment filed in May 2002 charging them with receiving about $224,000 in bribes from bar owners over a one-year period in exchange for not enforcing Honolulu's liquor laws.

Prosecutors say the amount of loss was "conservative" and closer to $500,000. It did not include other gifts, including sexual favors, food and drinks the inspectors also accepted as documented in dozens of taped recordings obtained by fellow investigator Charles Wiggins, who cooperated with federal investigators.

Ezra called the inspectors' conduct "disgusting." As in previous sentencings, he questioned who was minding the store and allowing the corruption to continue for so long, not only in this case, but in previous investigations involving the commission. Prosecutors say they believe the corruption was in place for many years before the inspectors were caught.

Liquor Commission administrators could not be reached for comment.

Pamela Byrne, assistant public defender for Hiranaka, argued at trial that Hiranaka had accepted gifts, not bribes, as part of the local style of gift giving.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Purpura said Hiranaka, as a supervisor, acted as an organizer of the racketeering enterprise because he took bribes, allowed it to continue and could have put a stop to it but did not.

Reginald Minn, Andres' attorney, questioned whether the inspectors' conduct was unexpected, given they were thrown into an environment "so inherently corrupt that it was hard not to get sucked into it."

David Klein, attorney for Mina, argued that his client was sufficiently punished after already serving 30 months in detention, longer than any of the investigators previously sentenced.

Although Mina was not a supervisor, Ezra imposed a harsher sentence on him because he fled to the Philippines and had to be brought back, confessed to investigators and then later perjured himself.

When given an opportunity to acknowledge his confession as true and accept responsibility yesterday, Mina declined.