Posted on: Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Jail time for campaign donors
By Ken Kobayashi
Advertiser Courts Writer
Two men given 10-day jail terms yesterday will be the first to serve time behind bars as a result of the city prosecutor's three-year investigation into illegal campaign contributions.
The city has prosecuted dozens of architects, engineers, contractors and others for illegal campaign donations. Most were fined and granted a chance to have their misdemeanors erased from their records if they abide by conditions similar to probation.
But Circuit Judge Steven Alm yesterday said he was imposing the 10-day terms for John A. Adversalo and Daniel K. Rosario for illegal contributions to Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign because of the seriousness of what they did and to deter others.
"You didn't create this system (of illegal donations)," the judge said, "but you helped perpetuate this rotten system."
Alm, a former U.S. attorney, granted a defense request to give the two men a chance to have their cases dropped if they stay out of trouble for a year, similar to what other judges have granted. But Alm went a step farther and ordered both to serve the 10 days behind bars, minus the one or two days each might already have spent in custody.
In addition, he ordered each to pay a $200 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.
The two must report to the O'ahu Community Correctional Center Dec. 18.
Adversalo, 38, president of Architects Pacific, pleaded guilty in September to two misdemeanor counts of donating about $3,000 under the names of a friend and a former employee to the Harris campaign.
Rosario, 43, a building supplier and independent contractor, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of giving the Harris campaign money under a false name and another misdemeanor count of exceeding the $4,000 campaign limit.
City deputy prosecutor Randal Lee said Rosario went about $9,000 over the limit.
Lee did not recommend a jail term. Instead, he had asked Alm to deny defense requests to give the two men a chance to have their records cleared. Lee said the criminal record might result in the two losing their licenses and getting barred from doing work for the city.
Lee said Alm acted within his authority and both he and the judge believe that deterrence is important. "The jail will have an effect, but it will have an instant effect where we're talking about a long-term effect," he said.
Adversalo and Rosario both declined to comment. Their lawyers were critical of the judge's actions.
"I just would like to say the judicial system fails when an individual who has admitted responsibility and has accepted responsibility for improper contributions (about $3,000 worth) is given a sentence of 10 days incarceration where individuals who have in court pleaded to hundreds of thousands of dollars of improper contributions serve no time," said Renee Yuen, lawyer for Adversalo.
Greg Nishioka, Rosario's lawyer, agreed.
The only other person to receive a jail term was Edward Y.C. Chun, 71, a well-known Honolulu lawyer who received a 10-day term from Alm. Chun last year acknowledged he advised the Food Pantry grocery chain to donate $5,000 to Harris under the name of two employees who later got reimbursed.
But Chun has not served the time and remains free while he appeals the sentence. His lawyer has said the appeal would be based in part on Alm giving Chun jail time while other judges have not imposed incarceration for violations of campaign spending laws.
The lawyers for Adversalo and Rosario said their clients cannot appeal.
Harris has not been charged with any crime and his lawyers have repeatedly said he did nothing wrong.
The prosecution has now gone into what may be a new phase with the convening of a confidential investigative grand jury panel, which heard testimony Nov. 10. Until now, only those who made illegal contributions have been prosecuted.
One witness who appeared before the grand jury was William Balfour, director of the city's Department of Parks and Recreation. The panel is expected to meet one more time this month. If the prosecutors believe enough evidence has been gathered, they have the option of seeking indictments before another panel.
"The investigation is continuing," Lee said yesterday. "We're just moving forward and seeing where the evidence takes us."
Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
