Leong pleads not guilty in contribution case

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Police Commissioner Leonard Leong's attorney yesterday entered a not-guilty plea for Leong to a misdemeanor charge of making campaign contributions to Mayor Jeremy Harris under a false name.

Attorney Mark Kawata said Leong was on the Mainland and had made no decision about whether he would stay on the seven-member commission while the charge is pending.

Kawata said Leong would waive his right to a jury trial and have the case tried before a judge, if it reaches that point.

Trial tentatively was scheduled for Nov. 4 in District Court. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Deputy city prosecutor Randal Lee would not say how much Leong is alleged to have donated to Harris inappropriately.

Harris has said he is pleased with Leong's performance on the commission and will not ask him to step down while the charge is pending.

Officials say no other Honolulu police commissioner has been charged with a crime while serving on the panel.

Acting Police Commission executive officer Allen Cluney said the commission has no policy or regulation that would automatically preclude someone from serving on the panel if convicted of a crime.

Ronald Taketa, commission chairman, said the panel had asked a city attorney for a legal opinion regarding whether Leong can continue to serve while the charge is pending and whether a conviction would require him to resign.

Taketa said the commission is not considering taking other action on its own.

"If the situation worsens, we may be obligated to do something," he said. "But Commissioner Leong is innocent until proven guilty, and we have to give him the benefit of the doubt."

City Councilman Charles Djou on Tuesday asked that Leong recuse himself from all commission activities until the case is settled.

And other council members are considering whether to seek an outside ruling on whether Leong should remain on the panel.

Leong, a vice president of Royal Contracting Co., was appointed to the commission by Harris in 1996 and has served as its chairman.

The commission is a panel of civilians appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The commissioners hire and may remove the chief of police, decide whether public money should be used to defend officers accused of wrongdoing, and review citizen allegations of police misconduct.

The City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved veteran Honolulu entertainer Jimmy Borges as Harris' latest appointee to the commission.

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