Cayetano pardons 30 in past year, 110 total

Join our discussion about Gov. Ben Cayetano's record of pardons

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

A former politician convicted of voter fraud in 1984 and an attorney convicted of terroristic threatening a decade ago were among the 30 people pardoned by Gov. Ben Cayetano in the past year.

Cayetano also pardoned Gary E. Kaplan, who in 1971 confessed to police he had committed 500 burglaries over five years. Kaplan was convicted of robbery and theft, and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison in 1971.

In one of the most noteworthy cases, Cayetano pardoned Ross M. Segawa, who was convicted in 1984 in a voter fraud case. Segawa, who was a 1982 candidate for the state House, arranged to have University of Hawai'i law school students who lived outside his district register within his district so they could vote for him.

Segawa pleaded no contest to criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation, evidence tampering and 10 counts of election fraud. Segawa and his mentor, former Sen. Clifford "Chip" Uwaine, served time.

Segawa could not be found for comment, and the governor's office declined to say where he is.

Kim Murakawa, Cayetano's press secretary, said Segawa was convicted 17 years ago, and "has made a positive social adjustment since then." She said the state attorney general's office, the Hawai'i Paroling Authority and the Department of Public Safety recommended that the pardon be granted.

Cayetano also pardoned former Honolulu attorney Leonard Appell, who made news in the '80s when he was accused in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme.

Appell was imprisoned Oct. 15, 1987 for allegedly attempting to hire a man to kill attorney Martin Wolff, who had sued Appell. Appell was acquitted, but later charged in a second case for allegedly threatening another man by hiring someone to run him down with a car. Appell was convicted in 1991 of terroristic threatening, reckless endangering and failure to return a rented motor vehicle.

Cayetano pardoned him in March, which was 10 years after the convictions. Appell also could not be found for comment, but Murakawa said Appell "has not been arrested for any criminal offenses since that case, and is considered a successful member of his community."

So far, Cayetano has pardoned about 110 people in his more than six years in office. Cayetano caused a stir last year when he pardoned Honolulu attorney Thomas Foley. Foley was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in 1997 for killing a man and seriously injuring the man's wife in a car crash while driving drunk.