Inmate's wife says lawyer ran drugs

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

The wife of a state prison inmate told a federal court jury yesterday that she provided crystal methamphetamine to Honolulu attorney Stephen Leong at least three times last year, and that the drugs were destined for inmates inside the Halawa Correctional Facility.

Leong is believed to be the first lawyer in Hawai'i to go to trial on charges of being part of a plan to smuggle crystal methamphetamine into a state prison. For more than a decade, prisons in Hawai'i have been beset with ice use by inmates, many of whom were sent to jail because of crystal meth abuse problems.

Lani Soliven, who testified under a grant of immunity, said the first drug deal took place on the third floor of the District Court building on Alakea Street, and that she gave crystal meth to Leong two other times in his law office on Bishop Street. The prosecution said she had been told by her husband, inmate Michael Soliven, to work with Leong.

Leong was arrested April 18, 2003, after allegedly buying two ounces of crystal methamphetamine from an undercover HPD officer in a sting operation. He was indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other charges.

In outlining the prosecution's cases, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Shipley said Leong's role in smuggling ice into Halawa surfaced in 2003 when inmate Michael Alvarez contacted officials and "disclosed outright" how he was able obtain the drug in prison.

Alvarez told investigators he had paid corrections officers to bring meth into Halawa, and that he had heard guards could buy the drug from Leong, Shipley said. He said Leong "handled Mr. Alvarez's money on the outside" and that Leong paid the guards on the prisoner's behalf.

Leong also was able to send the contraband into the prison by stamping letters sent to inmates "confidential legal mail" or "confidential legal documents."

Mail that was not stamped as legal mail was opened in a mail room and searched for contraband; mail marked with the large red lettering was opened by inmates in view of a corrections officer, Shipley said.

The scheme unraveled in January 2003 when Leong and Soliven loaded two ice packets into a priority mail envelope and Soliven took it to FedEx for delivery to Halawa, Shipley said.

FedEx workers put a new address label on the envelope, covering the words "confidential legal documents," Shipley said. Mail room workers opened the letter, found the drugs and an investigation was launched, he said.

Leong's lawyer, Barry Edwards, countered that Leong was "set up from day one" by Alvarez, whom he described as a "convicted armed robber, masterful manipulator and fabricator."

Alvarez was trying to create a ''get out of jail free" card by "nabbing a practicing lawyer, someone high-profile," Edwards said. "In a nutshell, there's more to this case than meets the eye," he said.

The trial is expected to last until early next week. Edwards would not say if Leong would take the stand in his own defense.

Reach David Waite at 525-8030 or at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.