City Council member Andy Mirikitani is scheduled to go on trial in June on six felony charges that include wire fraud, theft, bribery and extortion.
Mirikitani is accused of paying two former employees nearly $26,600 in bonuses in exchange for their kicking back $6,884 to him and his campaign.
Mirikitani was indicted in November in the case, along with his girlfriend, Sharron Bynum.
Bynum was named as "an aider and abettor," in the case and charged with theft, bribery and extortion.
Mirikitani also was charged with one count of witness tampering, accused of trying to persuade one of the former aides not to cooperate with investigators.
Federal Magistrate Barry Kurren yesterday set trial date for June 5.
Mirikitani and Bynum appeared in federal court yesterday and once again said they are not guilty of the charges. The two had to be arraigned again after they were reindicted on the same charges to correct a defect in the initial indictment.
The trial start date was pushed back from the original March 6 date because of scheduling conflicts with the attorneys.
U.S. Attorney Steve Alm has said that Mirikitani is the highest-ranking elected official in Hawai‘i and the only Honolulu City Council member to be indicted on federal felony charges while in office.
