Officer will stay on donor probe
By Peter Boylan and David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer
The lead Honolulu police investigator in one of the largest illegal campaign contribution probes in state history will be assigned to the city prosecutor's office to work full-time on the investigation, Police Chief Boisse Correa said yesterday.
The move came after weeks of speculation that the recently appointed Correa would pull Maj. Daniel Hanagami, regarded by many in the law enforcement community as the state's top white-collar crime investigator, off the case so he could assume his former position as head of HPD's Information Technology Division.
Speaking at a joint news conference yesterday morning, Correa and city prosecutor Peter Carlisle said that the agreement will "speed up" the investigation and is the exact opposite of de-emphasizing the investigation, as some had speculated.
Hanagami will work exclusively on the campaign contributions case and will do so with Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee, who specializes in white-collar corruption cases.
The probe, to date, has led to no-contest or guilty pleas from 24 city contractors or consultants, resulting in a minor jail sentence for one of them.
"At no time was this investigation in jeopardy," Carlisle said.
Correa said questions about the police department continuing to play a role in the investigation stretch back 18 months.
"We were looking at our resources and had some questions about how best to use those resources," Correa said at the news conference.
He said when he "came on as chief," he "talked to the prosecutor" about the issue.
"The investigator (Hanagami) will go to the prosecutor's office on a full-time basis and (Capt.) John Thompson will handle the technology side," Correa said. "We're satisfied."
Correa could not be reached yesterday afternoon for further comment.
HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said pulling Hanagami from the probe was one option Correa had considered as part of a plan to reorganize department staffing and that Correa had not decided to re-assign Hanagami before meeting with Carlisle last week. She said that it was never Correa's intention to impede the investigation. He just wanted his commander back.
Bob Watada, executive director of the state's Campaign Spending Commission, said he was pleased that the investigation will continue and that Hanagami will remain as the lead investigator.
"The entire investigation could come crumbling down (if he was reassigned), that is how important he is," Watada said.
Hanagami has been on special assignment on the case for more than two years. The investigation into illegal campaign contributions, particularly to Mayor Jeremy Harris, has been ongoing for almost three years.
More than 30 people have been charged with making illegal donations, but neither Harris nor any of the officials who ran his campaign committee have been charged with wrongdoing. Harris has said he never solicited or knowingly accepted illegal donations.
Reports about Hanagami's potential reassignment had rippled through the state law enforcement and legal community in recent weeks and left many wondering why Correa was considering the move at such a critical point in the investigation.
"It sounded unusual to say the very least," said longtime Honolulu attorney Earle Partington, who represented a misdemeanor defendant in the probe. "You're not going to take the investigator who has all the knowledge off of the investigation in the middle of the investigation and put in someone new."
He said that Correa and Carlisle's announcement is the proper action to take in a very public case.
"It means that Chief Correa is giving the case the appropriate level of priority. This is an important case in terms of the public's standpoint," he said. "It is important that the public see that this is being taken seriously by the proper authorities."
Hanagami had been in charge of HPD's Information Technology Division, but those duties will be turned over to Thompson while Hanagami is on loan to the prosecutor's office, Correa said.
Carlisle would not speculate on how much longer the investigation would continue.
"The problem is that whenever we lift up one rock, we often find something else underneath," he said.
Hanagami, in an e-mail sent last week before the agreement was official, said he has no problems with the agreement because it allows him additional time to focus on the investigation. Also, he said, he will continue to work out of his HPD office where he has three rooms filled with documents related to the investigation that he constantly consults.
"Chief Correa fully agreed to what Peter Carlisle deemed necessary to keep the investigation going in the best interest of the community," said Hanagami in an e-mail. "With the increase of investigative time, this resolution will allow Deputy Prosecutor Randy Lee and I the ability to identify and further investigate overt acts relating to campaign contributions with expectations to get lucrative government contract awards. I am satisfied about the agreement."
Correa said Hanagami will remain on HPD's payroll. He said Carlisle's request to allow Hanagami to continue working on the case " is a reasonable expectation." He said he would consider giving the investigation even more resources later, if the situation warrants.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com
