Attorney General Mark Bennett said Inada was part of a "small circle of contractors" who worked with "certain highly placed employees at the airport" for at least five years in a scheme involving bid-rigging, overbilling and cash kickbacks for airport repair and maintenance contracts worth no more than $25,000 apiece.

Inada pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree theft and agreed to provide testimony in future proceedings, Bennett said.

Sentencing is set for next May. Inada faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.

Bennett said "Inada estimated that over $100,000 was paid in kickbacks over the five-year period covered by his plea."

Bennett did not name the "highly placed employees" involved in the scandal, but investigators for the attorney general’s office last year arrested Richard Okada, head of the airport visitor information program, Dennis Hirokawa, airport maintenance superintendent, and maintenance supervisor Antonio Bio as part of the investigation. None has been charged.