Posted on: Sunday, September 26, 2004

Campaign donor pleads no contest

By Ken Kobayashi
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Honolulu engineer who has cooperated with the city prosecutor's office pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of making illegal campaign donations, but was given a chance to have the case dropped.

George Nishimura pleaded no contest Friday to two misdemeanor counts of illegal donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign in 1999 and 2000, but Honolulu District Judge Lono Lee postponed accepting the plea. If Nishimura abides by conditions similar to probation for a year, the case will be dismissed.

Lee granted the deferral after city Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee did not take a position on the defense request for the postponement.

Randal Lee told the judge that Nishimura cooperated with the prosecutor's office. Lee said Nishimura gave a statement identifying Dennis Mitsunaga as the person who solicited the campaign money because he was influential in getting Nishimura state and city jobs.

It was the first time that Lee publicly identified a person asking for illegal donations in connection with government jobs.

Lee said the matter is under investigation.

Mitsunaga, president of the one of the state's largest engineering and architectural consulting companies and a principal political fund-raiser for numerous Democratic Party politicians, including Harris, could not be reached for comment.

But his attorney, Michael Green, yesterday said he has represented Mitsunaga for four years and has not seen any evidence that Mitsunaga has done anything wrong.

"People say a lot of things to stay out of prison," Green said.

Harris has not been charged with any crime and his lawyer has repeatedly denied that Harris did anything wrong.

Friday's plea was part of an effort by the prosecutor's office that has resulted in illegal campaign donation charges against dozens of defendants over the past two years.

Mitsunaga's brother Dwight, of Pacific Architects Inc., was charged last month with two misdemeanor counts alleging he gave illegal campaign donations to Harris.

His lawyer last month said Dwight Mitsunaga plans to plead no contest and ask for a deferral of the pleas.