Posted on: Saturday, August 31, 2002

Housing board chief under scrutiny

By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Wesley Segawa, board chairman of the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii, is under investigation by the state Campaign Spending Commission for making "excess and false name" political contributions, commission executive director Robert Watada said yesterday.

Commission investigators have found evidence that Segawa, a Big Island engineering consultant, and his company, Wesley Segawa & Associates, Inc., exceeded legal limits on campaign donations by routing contributions through associates and family members, said Watada.

No evidence of criminal wrongdoing has been discovered, however, in the spending commission's investigation of the Segawa-related donations, Watada said.

Investigators have identified at least $25,000 in suspect Segawa donations made to the campaigns of Gov. Ben Cayetano, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and Maui Mayor Kimo Apana, Watada said.

Some of the individual donors have acknowledged being reimbursed by Segawa's companies after making the donations in their own names, according to Watada.

Segawa could not be reached for comment.

The commission is investigating dozens of other companies, most of them architectural or engineering firms, for similar violations of the state campaign spending law.

Numerous firms have been fined and campaigns have been required to refund the excess donations.

Evidence of criminal violations has been forwarded to the city prosecutors office, which begins taking testimony and presenting evidence to an O'ahu investigative grand jury on Thursday.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2447.