Grand jury looking into city finances, contracts

By Robbie Dingeman and Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writers

Key witnesses who were subpoenaed Monday to testify before an O'ahu grand jury next month include current and former members of Mayor Jeremy Harris' administration who oversaw city finances and the awarding of city contracts.

Prosecutors have been investigating Harris' campaign fund-raising practices since January, including allegations that campaign officials circumvented contribution limits by attributing donations to people who never made them. Investigators also want to know whether city contracts were awarded in exchange for campaign contributions.

Subpoenas were issued Monday for testimony from: Rae Loui, director of the Department of Design and Construction; Randall Fujiki, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, and former head of Design and Construction; former budget director Caroll Takahashi, who resigned from that post last month; and former finance director Roy Amemiya.

The investigative grand jury is scheduled to begin meeting on Sept. 5, and more than a dozen witnesses have been directed to provide sworn testimony behind closed doors, including some city contractors and Harris campaign volunteers. Prosecutors declined to discuss the nature of those proceedings.

Neither Harris nor the leaders of his campaigns for mayor or governor have been subpoenaed, according to Harris' attorney, William McCorriston, and other attorneys for Harris' gubernatorial campaign. Harris declined through a spokeswoman to talk about the subpoenas issued to Cabinet members.

City community services director Mike Amii, arrested last month on suspicion of felony theft related to campaign work for Harris he allegedly did on city time, also was not subpoenaed, his lawyer said. Amii has not been charged with any crime.

"I'm hopeful that the people that let the contracts for the City and County of Honolulu will testify as they have consistently said in the past, that there is no connection between campaign contributions and the awarding of city contracts," McCorriston said.

He said Harris has nothing to hide from prosecutors but is troubled by the pace of the probe. Harris dropped out of the race for governor in May, saying he no longer believed he could win.

"I think his reaction is that he's very concerned that the investigation has dragged out so long, that he's confident there is no quid pro quo, and as far as he's concerned there's nothing to worry about," McCorriston said. "If the grand jury brings things to a conclusion, so be it."

An investigative grand jury generally collects evidence that can later be submitted to an indicting grand jury, and witnesses called to testify are not usually the ones targeted for prosecution, according to legal experts. And witnesses who may be reluctant to cooperate with investigators can be compelled to provide information.

"Normally, an investigative grand jury is not convened for the purposes of indictment, but to collect information that can be used to determine what course of action to take," said former deputy city prosecutor Earle Partington, now a criminal defense attorney.

"Technically speaking, investigative grand juries do not have targets, but I think that's a little bit of a myth," he said. "I think reality is very different. And they may not have a target when they begin, but they sure as hell have one when they finish."

City corporation counsel David Arakawa declined to comment on the subpoenas, and officials said a court-issued protective order prevented him and his deputies from disclosing what police and prosecutors are investigating. City managing director Ben Lee and deputy managing director Malcolm Tom did not return calls.

City Council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said she is watching the probe with interest. She said she has had many questions about the process used by the city to award lucrative non-bid contracts.

"It's unfortunate that this is happening, and let's hope that truth prevails," Kobayashi said.

Both Kobayashi and Councilman John Henry Felix have questioned the Harris administration about rising costs associated with construction projects that are changed after contracts have been awarded.

"The answers have been very vague," Kobayashi said.

Felix agreed. "I've been a critic of the inordinate number of change orders and the lack of timely, accurate, complete information relative to said change orders," he said.