Pursuit of Wong seems like a vendetta

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer

I'm no apologist for the old Bishop Estate, but just this once I'm on the side of former trustee Richard Wong.

Don't get me wrong. Wong was a powerful, arrogant politico who made millions off of his high-placed connections. His actions hurt a lot of people, and the stubborn insistence of Wong and his fellow trustees on clinging to power after their time was up needlessly prolonged one of the saddest chapters in Island skulduggery.

Wong may or may not have done something criminal, but at this point, most people don't care either way. He's lost his power, he's lost his cash line and he's lost just about any respect he once had in the community.

So why is the state attorney general's office so doggedly pursuing criminal charges against Wong? First, the state's theft charges against Wong were dismissed. Then a perjury charge for lying to a grand jury was thrown out of court. Even while that case is on appeal, the state brought new perjury charges against Wong. Yesterday, a judge threw those charges out of court, too.

Even then, the state indicated it plans to pursue its case against Wong. The attorney general's office says Wong lied under oath before a grand jury and must pay the penalty for that. Fair enough, except that hundreds, maybe thousands, of equally serious crimes go unpunished every year in Hawai'i, even when we know the culprits. The clogged judicial system works only because of a prosecutor's discretion to plea bargain or turn a blind eye to some crimes when justice is somehow best served by doing so.

Right now, it feels like justice already has been served in the Bishop Estate case. The bad guys are gone in disgrace; reform is under way, and there's an all-around sense of healing in the Kamehameha Schools community.

In the face of all that, the continued prosecution of Wong feels like a vendetta. As state Senate president, Bishop Estate trustee and all-around power broker, Wong was once one of the most influential men in Hawai'i politics. You don't get to that sort of position without making a lot of enemies, the kind that might hold a grudge long after you've been forced off the political stage. Somewhere, somehow, it surely feels like someone is out to get Wong.

Most of us have put whatever anger and vengeance we wanted from the estate trustees behind us. There's a reason why we don't have the death penalty in this state, and there's a reason why most of us don't believe in hounding bad people all the way to their death. We feel for one another, even the worst among us. We worry about one another because we worry that it could happen to us, too.

So just this once, I'm on Wong's side. Enough is enough. Let's leave the man alone to live with his disgrace. That's my idea of closure.

Mike Leidemann's columns appear in the Advertiser Thursdays and Saturdays. Call him at 525-5460, or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.