5 more indictments in illegal donations to Harris
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
An O'ahu grand jury indicted five people on misdemeanor charges yesterday for allegedly funneling illegal campaign contributions to Mayor Jeremy Harris.
The indictments came two weeks after one of the defendants, Kenneth Sakai, and four others were charged with similar offenses, and are the latest in a long series of allegations to emerge from a wide-ranging campaign finance investigation that has focused mostly on money that went to Harris.
Indicted yesterday with Sakai were John Adversalo, Jay Mende, Masae Mende and Daniel K. Rosario. The Mendes are from the Big Island and are related to Donn Mende, who was indicted in the earlier case. The remaining defendants are from O'ahu, prosecutors said.
"This is evidence of how widespread the violations are, and how it has extended to the Neighbor Islands," deputy city prosecutor Randal Lee said. "To my knowledge, Jeremy wasn't running for mayor of the Big Island."
Lee said the case involved "several thousands of dollars" but declined to specify how much.
Adversalo, president of Architects Pacific Inc., was charged with two counts of making campaign contributions under a false name. Jay Mende was charged with one false name count and one count of exceeding the $4,000 campaign contribution limit; Masae Mende and Rosario were charged with both offenses; and Sakai, an executive with the R.M. Towill engineering firm, was charged with two false name counts and one excessive contribution count.
Their attorneys did not return calls. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Harris' attorney has repeatedly said the mayor never solicited or knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions. Harris has not been charged with wrongdoing.
Nine other defendants have been fined after pleading no contest to similar charges related to Harris, and many others have been fined by the state Campaign Spending Commission.
Lee said it was possible that others could be charged later this month.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
