Recycling chief admits taking bribes

Advertiser Staff

A former Pearl Harbor recycling program supervisor pleaded guilty Monday to accepting more than $100,000 in bribes after a federal investigation revealed that he took money to divert surplus metals to private vendors and to an undercover FBI agent over a two-year period, federal law enforcement officials said.

Robert Aguigui, 50, was charged with four counts of bribery in connection with the unauthorized sale of recyclable materials, according to an assistant U.S. attorney. Aguigui took bribes from two local vendors to sell scrap metal to them, then destroyed evidence of the transactions, the assistant U.S. attorney said.

In all, nine people admitted taking bribes, handing out illegal gratuities and theft uncovered by "Operation Tinman," a two-year investigation spearheaded by the FBI.

FBI Special Agent Arnold Laanui said the operation focused on the misappropriation of surplus metals, such as valves and pipe fixtures, but declined to elaborate.

As part of the investigation, an undercover FBI agent posing as a scrap-metal dealer bought stolen parts from shipyard workers and paid bribes to Aguigui, who at the time ran the Pearl Harbor Recycling Center, according to the U.S. attorney's office.