Political-donor case nears settlement
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
A grand jury session to seek indictments for illegal campaign contributions by people connected to a major Honolulu engineering firm was abruptly canceled yesterday after negotiations to settle the case moved forward, a defense attorney said.
"You have two entities coming from polar opposite extremes moving toward the center," said attorney Howard Luke, who represents SSFM International president and chief executive officer Michael Matsumoto.
Luke said Matsumoto has cooperated fully with prosecutors and would testify in future court proceedings if called, but that negotiations centered on any penalties that he or others could face.
"We are trying to reach a resolution of the entire campaign spending issue as it relates to Mr. Matsumoto and his firm," Luke said. "We're very close to a resolution."
The grand jury was set to hear testimony regarding contributions that people connected to SSFM made to Mayor Jeremy Harris, Gov. Ben Cayetano and other Hawai'i politicians.
Officers and employees of the firm, and their relatives, donated at least $85,000 to Harris since 1996, and gave nearly that amount to Cayetano, according to state Campaign Spending Commission records. People connected to the company gave lesser amounts to Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana and Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.
The campaign commission has long been investigating political donations linked to SSFM. Company officers and directors asked people to contribute to Harris and Cayetano, then reimbursed them to evade state contribution limits, according to court documents supporting a subpoena the commission issued in March. The payments were allegedly made from a special account held by Matsumoto.
Luke said he disagreed with prosecutors' interpretation of laws related to campaign contributions, but that he would not categorically state that Matsumoto was innocent of wrongdoing.
"I would not say that, to be perfectly frank, but there was no quid pro quo," or reward from government officials in exchange for the contributions, he said.
Luke said Matsumoto "has absolutely nothing to hide."
"If called to sit down and speak to what he knows about this investigation or any collateral investigation, he would certainly do so," Luke said. "He is very concerned about the company, the integrity of the work product, the customers and the staff of SSFM."
Prosecutors declined to comment on the case. Among the witnesses subpoenaed to testify were Campaign Spending Commission director Robert Watada, a private investigator for the commission, two SSFM employees and City Department of Design and Construction director Rae Loui.
Attorney Steven Hisaka, who represents SSFM on civil matters, said the two subpoenaed employees handle records and that there was no indication they were suspected of wrongdoing. A second criminal defense attorney, for several other SSFM employees, would not talk about the case.
SSFM is one of the state's largest engineering companies and has worked on a wide variety of city and state projects, such as the Central O'ahu Regional Park, Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Honolulu International Airport terminal.
A separate grand jury has been meeting for months to hear evidence related to Harris' campaign and the awarding of city contracts.
Harris' top campaign fund-raiser and several Cabinet members have appeared before that grand jury, which is expected to continue meeting into the new year.
Harris has denied any link between campaign contributions and the awarding of city contracts.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
