U.S. District Judge David Ezra said the defendant, construction contractor Wesley Uemura, 62, was the "least culpable" of the four charged in the federal case, indicating that the remaining defendants are in for much stiffer punishments when they are sentenced tomorrow.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong, who prosecuted the case, said the bid-rigging conspiracy -- in which contractors worked with airport officials to steer "small" airport repair contracts to a small group of companies -- began in 1991 and lasted for 11 years, although the defendants were only charged with offenses committed from 1997 to 2002.

Costs of the jobs were falsely inflated and the contractors were required by state officials to make kickbacks in the form of cash, gratuities and even contributions to unnamed Isle political campaigns.

Ezra called the case "a tremendous black eye for the state of Hawai'i and the government contracting process" and promised to have more to say on the subject at tomorrow's sentencing.