Posted at 2:25 p.m., Thursday, May 23, 2002
8 liquor commission employees indicted
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The eight are: David K.H. Lee, 64, night shift supervisor; Harvey T. Hiranaka, 55, night shift supervisor; and investigators Arthur M. Andres, 59; Samuel K.Y. Ho, 43; Eduardo C. Mina, 71; Collin M. Oshiro, 32; William B. Richardson Jr., 48; and Kenneth L. Wright, 47.
Five of the men are in custody, two are expected to turn themselves in, and one, Mina, is out of the country, officials said.
The eight represent 80 percent of the commission's night enforcement staff.
Prosecutors allege that 45 licensees made payments of at least $1,000 to the defendants in return for not fully enforcing liquor laws.
The case is being handled under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, a federal law commonly known as RICO.
The indictments are the result of a joint FBI and Honolulu Police Department investigation.
