The 37-year-old half brother of Michael J. Miske Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Tuesday for his role in the criminal organization that sold drugs, committed murder-for-hire, robberies, assaults and used chemical weapons against the opposition.
Federal authorities say from 2012 through June 2020, John B. Stancil, 37, of Waimanalo was a member of the “Miske Enterprise” and considered one of Miske’s top lieutenants.
Miske 50, was found dead Dec. 1 at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu, where he was in custody awaiting sentencing. Miske died of “toxicity of fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl” in what appears to be an accidental death.
“Today’s sentence represents the culmination of years of tireless, dogged, skilled, and innovative work on the part of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii and our outstanding law enforcement partners, the Honolulu Division of the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, among others,” said acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson in a statement. “The court was deprived of the opportunity to sentence Michael Miske due to his untimely death following his guilty verdicts at trial for racketeering and other crimes. But today’s sentence, along with the 18 convictions we have secured against Miske’s henchmen and violent thugs, demonstrates our strong commitment to investigating, prosecuting, and convicting those who violate the law and endanger the safety and welfare of Hawaii’s citizens. Let today’s sentence and the convictions in these cases serve as a stark reminder to those who operate criminal enterprises in Hawaii that we have the tools, expertise, and resolve to bring them to justice.”
Stancil entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 22, 2024, to plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy. In exchange, federal prosecutors dropped 12 other charges against him.
Stancil was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson to the statutory maximum, followed by three years of supervised release, for racketeering conspiracy.
“Mr. Stancil was a key member of the Miske Enterprise, actively participating in a longstanding pattern of racketeering activity involving murder-for- hire, robbery, and use of chemical weapons,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter in a statement. “This sentencing reflects years of collaboration between FBI Honolulu and our law enforcement partners. The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to dismantle violent criminal enterprises, hold their members accountable, and pursue justice for victims.”
On consecutive nights in March 2017, Stancil and others executed chemical weapon attacks on two Honolulu nightclubs, according to federal court records. For each attack, co-conspirator Jacob L.L. Smith drove to Stancil’s house for the “toxic chemical called chloropicrin,” which is capable of causing death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans.
Stancil told Smith how to release it, drawing from his experience dispersing chloropicrin in a crowded Waikiki nightclub in 2015 on Miske’s orders. Smith gave the chemical to Ashlin Akau, who later entered the targeted nightclub and released the chloropicrin.
“The release of the chloropicrin resulted in nightclub patrons scrambling for the exits as they experienced burning in their eyes and difficulty breathing,” according to the plea agreement.
Stancil also admitted to joining a murder-for-hire conspiracy with Miske and other members of his criminal organization after Miske put a contract out on a person he thought was selling him out to law enforcement. Although Miske eventually rescinded the contract, Stancil told the would-be killer where the man lived in Waimanalo. Stancil also served as the getaway driver for multiple assaults ordered by Miske and numerous robberies.
Stancil was charged alongside 12 other defendants, all of whom pleaded guilty except for Michael J. Miske, who proceeded to trial and was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, murder and 11 other felony charges on July 18, 2024, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Seven other members and associates of the Miske Enterprise pleaded guilty to various offenses in related cases.
“You cannot run from the facts,” Watson told Stancil at sentencing before reciting the “litany of racketeering acts” Stancil was responsible for, according to a news release.
Watson found Stancil to be “among the most culpable” of those in the Miske Enterprise, describing him as one of Miske’s “key confidants and lieutenants” and a “key player in terrorizing the citizenry of this city and county for years.”
“Mr. Stancil’s racketeering charge reminds us that organized crime threatens innocent lives for money,” said Adam Jobes, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle field office, in a statement. “Our agency follows the money so we can cut off organized crime at its roots.”
“HSI is committed to ending organized crime in Hawaii. The sentencing of Mr. Stancil underscores the importance of leveraging law enforcement partnerships to safeguard our community,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas.
This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation and was investigated by a diverse array of county, state and federal law enforcement officials.
They include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Honolulu Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, Cybercrime Lab of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, Honolulu Fire Department, Hawaii National Guard, 93rd Civil Support Team, Office of Investigations — Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, and Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Inciong, Michael Nammar, KeAupuni Akina and Aislinn Affinito prosecuted the case.
