After deliberating for a week, the jury of 10 women and two men found Harvey Hiranaka guilty of 12 counts and Eduardo Mina guilty of five counts of extortion and accepting bribes from bar owners and operators.

The two former inspectors are to be sentenced Feb. 14. U.S. District Judge David Ezra said the delay in sentencing is the result of the lack of a fourth, full-time federal judge for Hawai'i.

Under federal law, Mina and Hiranaka each would face up to 20 years in prison on the charges against them, but under federal sentencing guidelines probably will receive far shorter sentences — in the range of four to five years, lawyers for the two men said.

Mina, who fled to the Philippines after learning federal authorities had opened an investigation of bribe-taking by some liquor inspectors and who was detained while awaiting trial, was returned to custody to await sentencing.

Ezra allowed Hiranaka, who has been free on a signature bond since he was arrested in the case, to remain free on bond until sentencing, but increased the amount of the bond from $20,000 to $250,000.

Ezra said he does not believe that Hiranaka is a danger to the community and is not in a position to commit the same crimes he was convicted of.

Hiranaka and Mina were among eight investigators indicted by a federal grand jury two years ago on charges of taking cash bribes from October 2000 to December 2001. The other six pleaded guilty. The indictments were one of the state’s largest alleging corruption in a government agency.

The bribes paid to an informant who worked with authorities ranged from $40 to $1,080 and totalled more than $11,500.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Seabright, who prosecuted the case, said it was never determined how much each of the liquor inspectors indicted in the case made from what he termed "the criminal enterprise."

"The question that needs to be asked now is how did this happen and what is being done to prevent it from happening in the future," Seabright said.