HONOLULU — Former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro, prominent Hawai‘i businessman Dennis Mitsunaga and four Mitsunaga & Associates executives were found not guilty on all counts in their pay-to-prosecute conspiracy trial in federal court on Friday.
After a two-month trial, the jury deliberated for less than two days before informing the court that they had reached a verdict before 12:30 p.m.
After the acquittal on all charges was read in court, some of the defendants, family members and supporters who packed the gallery broke down in tears. Some clapped out loud and hugged each other between sobs of relief.
Special Prosecutor Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat declined comment as he left the courtroom after the verdict.
Speaking at the base of the courthouse steps, Kaneshiro, who was under investigation for eight years, condemned the U.S. Department of Justice’s probe, saying it needlessly tainted the good work of the city Department of the Prosecuting Attorney while he was at the helm.
“Our office did a lot of good things for the city, and we get under this cloud of a federal investigation. Just look … the trial took two months. Two months — and a jury came back in a day and a half. What does that say about the government’s evidence and the investigation?” Kaneshiro said. “Not only me and our office, but other citizens under this cloud of suspicion that we’re criminals, we’re bad, and we didn’t do nothing wrong. We just did what we supposed to do.”
Kelly Thornton, director of media relations for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, declined comment.
Kaneshiro implored reporters to file Freedom of Information Act requests and publish how much money the federal government is spending to send U.S. attorneys from San Diego to Hawai‘i to go after local citizens.
“How much money they spending? Not only this trial, but the whole years they’ve been investigating. These guys are … flying here, staying at our hotels … at the taxpayer’s expense,” he said.
Kaneshiro said he feels “vindicated” but that it was too soon to decide whether to run for office again. Mitsunaga, standing behind him, urged him to run.
“I’ll support you,” said Mitsunaga, laughing alongside his family and supporters.
“No campaign donations,” replied Kaneshiro, smiling.
Kaneshiro served as city prosecutor from 1988 to 1996 and again from 2010 to 2018 before he went on paid leave. He didn’t run for reelection in 2020, and his term expired in January 2021.
The defendants were indicted in June 2022 for allegedly conspiring to charge a former Mitsunaga employee with felony theft for exposing the company to liability and keeping some money from jobs done on company time with company resources. They faced federal charges of conspiracy, honest services wire fraud and federal program bribery.
The defense team included attorneys Birney B. Bervar, Jennifer Lieser, Jessica Ann Szemkow, John M. Schum, Ryan Mitsos, Thomas M. Otake, Andrew S. Cowan, Crystal K. Glendon and Mark Mermelstein.
Bervar said Friday’s verdict was a “complete vindication” for Kaneshiro, and noted how fast the jury found “everybody not guilty” following years of investigation and two months of trial.
Mitsunaga, Kaneshiro, Terri Ann Otani, Aaron Shunichi Fujii, Chad Michael McDonald, and Sheri Jean Tanaka all had pleaded not guilty.
In April, Mitsunaga had been ordered to remain jailed for the duration of the trial because of alleged witness tampering.
Mitsunaga’s attorney, Nina Marino, said she came to Honolulu from Los Angeles knowing that the allegations against her client and his co-defendants was “government overreach from the second I saw this case.”
“Justice was done today,” said Marino. “My client is amazing.”
Mitsunaga said he is “so happy” with the verdict because it had an ill effect on his business, Mitsunaga & Associates Inc.
“It’s (the federal investigation and prosecution) really bad on our business. Our attorneys were all terrific, every one of them,” said Mitsungaga. “Last thing I got to say, I’m glad to be out of that cold cell. Look, I wore my sweater and two jackets.”
Tanaka, who before the trial fell victim to what her attorneys described as an extortion scam shrouded in fake threats against a federal judge and prosecutor, thanked the jurors for giving their time to be part of “an important process.”
“I really want to thank all of … our friends and family who have stood there praying for us, and stood by our side every single day of trial and who gave us … positive strength to be able to withstand this,” said Tanaka, who fell to her knees and sobbed when she heard the not-guilty verdict in court.
“This was completely wrong what happened. And I think the gasp you heard from me at least when the verdict was read … what the government did to each one of our families, what they put us through. The horrific things they did … pitting family members against friends at every step of the way, it was awful. And we’re so very grateful that justice was served today,” she said outside the federal court building.
Attorneys for the defense asserted before the trial began that their clients engaged in campaign contributions that are constitutionally protected acts under the First Amendment.
Mitsunaga is the founder of Mitsunaga & Associates Inc., an architecture and engineering firm that does work in every county and for the U.S. Department of Defense in Korea. Between 2006 and 2023, Mitsunaga gave $192,190 to mayors, governors, members of Congress, state House speakers, state Senate presidents, City Council chairs and county, state and federal candidates. Most of Mitsunaga’s contributions were to Democrats.
His daughter has given $112,600, his wife donated $116,450 and company employees, $41,025. Mitsunaga’s family members and employees made 566 donations to political campaigns during that same time frame.
Throughout Kaneshiro’s decade as Honolulu prosecuting attorney, he collected $325,897 from 993 donations. The trial focused on about $45,000 in donations given to Kaneshiro’s campaign in between October 2012 and October 2016.
Otake, McDonald’s attorney, said after the verdict was read that jurors are the only people “who heard it all.”
“Calling something corrupt in Hawai‘i when it’s not does just as much to harm the public’s faith in our government as corruption itself. And that’s what happened here. I would just ask that these federal prosecutors from the mainland be more responsible as they come over here and decide to charge people with crimes,” said Otake.
“I have a strong belief that the vast majority of our community members that serve in state and local government are wonderful, hardworking people, and this idea that everything and everybody in Hawai‘i is corrupt … it’s just not the case.”
Wheat and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Chiang, Colin M. McDonald, Janaki Gandhi Chopra, Joseph J.M. Orabona and Shauna Prewitt are part of the same team that convicted former Honolulu Police Chief Louis M. Kealoha and his wife, former Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, in 2019.
The special prosecutor’s team is preparing for trial in a case about the $250,000 severance payment awarded Kealoha when he left the department prior to his conviction.
