Updated at 7:51 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Federal prison drug smugglers sentenced
Advertiser Staff Writer
Robert Kupau and Keoki Astronomo were sentenced today by federal judge Helen Gillmor to serve prison terms of 175 and 100 months, respectively, for their roles in smuggling drugs into the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.The two were the last defendants of a prison-drug smuggling ring to be sentenced.
Kupau, 31, was convicted of possessing prohibited items in prison and for being the organizer in the conspiracy to smuggle methamphetamine and marijuana into the detention center.
Astronomo, 36, a resident of Lahaina, Maui, was convicted for possession of a controlled substance.
Previously sentenced were Gabrielle and John Hawi Kupau, Robert's wife and brother; Marlene Astronomo, Keoki's mother, and former federal corrections officer Akoni Sandoval Kapihe.
Gabrielle and John Hawi Kupau are serving sentences of 25 and 32 months, respectively, while Marlene Astronomo was sentenced in May to three years probation and fined $2,500. Kapihe was sentenced May 3 to 33 months in prison.
