Mirikitani attorney leery of witnesses

By Robbie Dingeman and David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writers

City Councilman Andy Mirikitani will take the stand during his federal trial and deny that he required two former employees to kick back portions of hefty bonuses he gave them in 1999, his lawyer said yesterday in opening statements.

City Councilman Andy Mirikitani is charged with taking kickbacks from bonuses paid to staffers. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

But the prosecution's first witness, McMillan, Mirikitani's former top aide, testified that her former boss made it clear to her that she could receive a bonus of $16,917 only if she agreed to pay Mirikitani's campaign.

"If I didn't give the campaign contribution," she testified, "I wouldn't get the bonus."

Mirikitani, 45, a councilman since 1990 who represents Manoa, Makiki, McCully and other communities of urban Honolulu, has been described by prosecutors as the highest-ranking elected official here to stand trial on federal felony charges while still in office. He is prevented by term limits from running for re-election next year.

Mirikitani is accused of theft, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and witness tampering in connection with allegations that he gave McMillan and Serikawa nearly $26,600 in bonuses in exchange for their paying him and his campaign fund about $6,880 — about half the amount of the bonuses after taxes.

Mirikitani's girlfriend, Sharron Bynum, 52, a city employee, is also on trial on charges as assisting the councilman in the theft, extortion and bribery scheme.

Mirikitani appeared in court wearing a light blue shirt, blue patterned tie and gray pinstriped suit that he frequently wears to council meetings.

The councilman has been known for his campaign against strip clubs, hostess bars and X-rated video stores. In earlier years, Mirikitani won awards as an advocate of ethics, open government and city-supported childcare programs.

	City Councilman Andy Mirikitani's trial
•	Judge: U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor
•	Length of trial: Two to three weeks
•	Defendants: Andy Mirikitani, councilman and lawyer, and Sharron Bynum, Mirikitani's girlfriend and a city property manager
•	Charges: Mirikitani — six counts of theft, extortion, bribery, wire fraud and witness tampering. Bynum — three counts of theft, extortion and bribery as Mirikitani's "aider and abettor."
•	Punishment: Mirikitani's charges carry maximum prison terms totaling 65 years and as much as $1.5 million in fines. Bynum's charges carry maximum prison terms of 40 years and $750,000 in fines. If convicted of a felony, Mirikitani loses his job as city councilman upon sentencing.
•	Prosecution: Mirikitani paid two employees nearly $26,600 in bonuses, in exchange for their paying him and his campaign $6,884. Bynum assisted in the scheme.
•	Defense: Mirikitani gave bonuses and received a campaign contribution, but denies that he received any cash and denies that he required the contribution. Bynum contends that the two former workers are prosecution witnesses against her and Mirikitani because she drew their anger by cracking down on them and making them work harder.

In his opening, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Seabright told the jurors that the case involved debt, greed and deception. Seabright said Mirikitani in 1999 watched legal debts mounting from an unrelated legal case, which prompted him to create the kickback scheme.

Seabright said those legal bills skyrocketed from $17,000 to $110,000 over a few months.

Edward Jaffe, of the law firm Torkildson Katz Fonseca Jaffe Moore and Hetherington, declined to comment on the nature of the case but he confirmed that he had represented Mirikitani on unrelated civil matters.

McMillan yesterday calmly and consistently described what she called "a deal" that Mirikitani proposed.

She testified that in the summer of 1999, Mirikitani called her to his office first, then requested she walk across the street with him so they could sit at a concrete bench in front of the Hawai'i State Library and away from City Hall.

McMillan said that Mirikitani made it clear to her that she could receive the bonus of $16,917 if she agreed to return some of the money to her boss' campaign. She said he assumed that half of the money would need to go to taxes, then figured that the remaining amount, about $8,400, would be split equally between her and his campaign.

She said she was uncomfortable with the offer, advised him that "it would look very bad" if people found out about it, but didn't believe it to be illegal at the time.

While she testified, Mirikitani took notes with a pen. At other times during the trial, he nodded when his attorney stressed defense points and occasionally smiled at those around him.

McMillan worked for Mirikitani from October 1996 until she resigned at the end of 1999. Since then she worked as a consultant on a city transit project and now serves as an aide to Councilman Duke Bainum.

Seabright also provided copies of a check that McMillan wrote to Mirikitani's campaign committee for $4,000 and a check for $250 that her husband, Karl Rhoads, wrote to the campaign organization.

Then the prosecution presented copies of Mirikitani's state Campaign Spending Commission filing in which Mirikitani reported that McMillan donated $2,000 and her husband — whose name was spelled as Carl Rhodes — gave another $2,000 with no mention of the $250.

Serikawa is expected to testify later in the trial.

Seabright told the jurors that Mirikitani arranged for a before-tax bonus of $9,616 to Serikawa, who had worked on a part-time basis and had earned only about $5,900 before being offered the huge bonus. He said Serikawa eventually gave about $2,630 back to Mirikitani.

Mirikitani fired Serikawa in December 1999, but asked to meet with him in Feb. 11, 2000, at the lookout park on Tantalus, Sea-

bright said. He said Serikawa wore a recording device supplied by the FBI to the meeting at which Mirikitani urged Serikawa to keep quiet about the bonus and to tell anyone asking questions that the kickback allegation was false.

In his opening, Edmunds said Serikawa lied on his job application, got fired by Mirikitani and became unhappy when city officials did not uphold his employment discrimination claims against Mirikitani.

Edmunds said Mirikitani did give bonuses but did not require payment. "He did not try to keep it a secret because he felt he did nothing wrong," Edmunds said.

Deputy public defender William Domingo, in opening statements in defense of Mirikitani's girlfriend Sharron Bynum portrayed the employees as resentful of Bynum, who worked to bring order to Mirikitani's office.

Domingo said that the workers enjoyed little supervision from Mirikitani and resisted Bynum's efforts to manage. "They hated Sharron," Domingo said.

He also tried to cast doubt on the testimony of the former employees, who were granted immunity from prosecution. "The government helps those who help the government."

City officials have said it's unclear what impact the trial is having on Mirikitani's ability to represent his community.

He has maintained that it is not impeding his work, has continued to introduce more bills than his colleagues and has sometimes been the sole voice of criticism of fiscal issues while pushing for more money to be spent in his district.

Councilman Steve Holmes, who has battled with Mirikitani in the past, said the trial has come during the slower summer months after the city budget has passed. "I guess if he was going to have a trial, this would be the better time of year to have it."

But Holmes said the case has hurt Mirikitani's and the council's credibility. "No matter how the case turns out, I think he's damaged goods."