Liquor Commission supervisor is fifth official to plead guilty

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

The number of Honolulu Liquor Commission inspectors and supervisors who have pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges now stands at five after David K.H. Lee pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday.

Lee, 64, pleaded guilty to a single count of racketeering and three counts of extortion. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and fines of up to $250,000 on each of the counts when he is sentenced Feb. 18.

Lee, one of two Liquor Commission supervisors accused of accepting bribes, signed a court document that says an undercover investigator from the commission, who wore a recording device, went with him to the London Pub on Dec. 11, 2000, and accepted $200 from the bar's owner.

In addition, Lee acknowledged accepting "hundreds of dollars," with the exact amount unknown, from Club Ruby on Dec. 21, 2002, and hundreds of dollars from the Satin Doll nightclub on Feb. 14, 2001.

Lee was one of eight inspectors and supervisors indicted by the federal grand jury in May in one of Hawai'i's biggest cases alleging corruption in a government agency. The charges accused the eight of accepting cash bribes between $40 and $1,080, from October 2000 to December 2001, from owners, managers or employees of 45 hostess and strip bars in return for not enforcing liquor laws.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Seabright, who is handling the case, said that in addition to Lee, Liquor Commission inspectors Samuel K.Y. Ho, Collin M. Oshiro, William B. Richardson Jr. and Kenneth L. Wright have pleaded guilty.

Cases are still pending against inspector Harvey T. Hiranaka and inspector Arthur M. Andres, Seabright said. He would not say if they, too, are expected to plead guilty.

Officials have not been able to locate a sixth inspector, Eduardo C. Mina, now considered a fugitive.