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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 28, 2003

Woman fined for campaign violation

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A woman who funneled money from a top Honolulu engineering firm to Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign committee pleaded no contest yesterday to a misdemeanor violation of the state campaign spending law.

June Takushi, wife of SSFM International vice president Lee Takushi, was fined $1,000 but will face no jail time if she is not charged with a new offense for one year.

Authorities said June Takushi helped circumvent the state's $4,000-per-donor limit on campaign contributions by funneling at least $24,000 from SSFM to Harris through six relatives and friends.

"I think it's rather disgraceful that people would submit their family members to the risk of prosecution in order to violate the campaign spending law," deputy city prosecutor Randal Lee said.

June Takushi's attorney, Earle Partington, said her role had been minor.

"The money was from her husband's company," Partington said during a hearing in District Court. "What she did, she did at the request of her husband."

Prosecutor Lee said Lee Takushi remains under investigation for his role in the scheme, and that others connected to the company may also face prosecution. None of the people who donated money provided by June Takushi to Harris' campaign will be prosecuted, however.

SSFM's president, Michael Matsumoto, pleaded no contest last month to a felony money laundering charge and a misdemeanor for illegally steering at least $140,000 to Harris.

Matsumoto has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for a recommendation that he be spared a prison term when he is sentenced in July. Three more people connected to SSFM have also been charged with misdemeanors.

Harris' spokeswoman said the mayor did not know Takushi and had no comment on her case.

The mayor's campaign committee has been the focus of a wide-ranging criminal investigation for more than a year, and several campaign officials were subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury.

Many companies that donated heavily to Harris have been awarded lucrative contracts for city construction jobs. No evidence has surfaced publicly to prove any link between donations and contracts, and Harris' lawyers say there is none.

Attorneys' fees stemming from the investigation and several lawsuits drained about $500,000 from the campaign's bank accounts.

The committee says it is now nearly broke and cannot pay the state Campaign Spending Commission $59,000 from improper donations the committee is required to forfeit.

That also means the committee has no money to pay the lawyer bills of any campaign officials who are subpoenaed to testify in court cases.

"If there's no money, there's no money," campaign co-chair B. Rick Tsujimura said. "You can't squeeze blood from a stone."

Commission director Robert Watada said he would request the campaign's bank records and review how the money had been spent.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.