A 39-year-old Big Island murder suspect in the 2004 Pali Golf Course shootings who was represented by a court-appointed lawyer a year ago has mysteriously retained a prominent New York criminal defense attorney as his trial is set to begin tomorrow.

Ethan "Malu" Motta of Hilo will be represented by Charles Carnesi, whose clients include accused Gambino crime family scion John "Junior" Gotti, in a racketeering and murder trial.

Prosecutors say Motta and co-defendant Rodney Joseph Jr. shot and killed members of a rival criminal group in January 2004 in what authorities described as a bloody turf war over "protection" of illegal gambling casinos on O'ahu.

Where the money is coming from to pay Carnesi's fees and expenses — estimated by some court observers to be potentially in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — is not known.

Motta said he was indigent when he was first charged in the case and the fees of his court-appointed lawyer, Hawai'i defense counsel Todd Eddins, were paid by the government.

But in sealed court records filed late last year, Eddins was dismissed and Carnesi was hired privately, along with Hawai'i attorney Walter Rodby.

Motta tried unsuccessfully last year to plead guilty in return for a sentence of 27 1/2 years in federal prison. That plea deal was rejected by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.

How a high-powered lawyer from the "Bada Bing" world of New York mob trials plays before a Hawai'i jury more accustomed to a "da kine" style of local lawyering will be interesting to see.

During jury selection in the case last week, Carnesi betrayed an unfamiliarity with local geography, not knowing the difference between the blue-collar neighborhood of Kalihi and the upscale Kahala area.

Repeated attempts to reach Carnesi for comment were unsuccessful.

Rodby, who is serving as co-counsel in the case with Carnesi, would not comment, referring questions to Carnesi.

Michael Green, a Hawai'i criminal defense lawyer who came to the Islands 20 years ago from the courtrooms of Chicago, said, "I haven't seen out-of-state guys fare well" in trials here.

"He'll have to be very careful about how he dresses and speaks," Green said.

William Harrison, a Hawai'i defense lawyer who represented Kai Ming Wang, a co-defendant of Joseph and Motta who pleaded guilty last year, said he expects Carnesi "will do well" in the trial.

"He's obviously very familiar with the RICO law," said Harrison, using the acronym for the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the criminal statutes used by federal prosecutors around the country to target alleged organized crime groups.

Motta and Joseph are charged with participation in the midday murders of Romilius Corpuz, 40, and Lepo Utu Taliese, 44, on Jan. 7, 2004, in the parking lot of the city's Pali Golf Course. A third victim, Tinoimalu Sao, 42, was shot in the head but recovered.

According to prosecutors and police, the violence was rooted in a dispute between rival factions of security personnel who provided protection services to illegal gaming venues bankrolled by Wang, a mainland Chinese immigrant who came to Hawai'i in 1994.

Last February, Motta admitted to Mollway that he shot Taliese but hadn't intended to kill him.

"I overreacted to the situation, your honor," Motta said. "I shot Mr. Taliese. I take responsibility."

He also admitted shooting Sao in the head with a .22-caliber handgun.

Motta's statements were part of the plea deal reached by prosecutors with Motta, Joseph and a third man charged with murder, Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves, that Mollway later balked at approving.

She said she did not feel that the three defendants had provided enough cooperation with authorities to qualify for a sentence of less than life behind bars.

Joseph and Gonsalves admitted shooting and killing Corpuz.

Gonsalves later re-entered a guilty plea in the case and Mollway ruled that she was satisfied that he qualified for the reduced sentence of 27 1/2 years behind bars.

Wang, the man who financed the gambling games and hired security for them, pleaded guilty to racketeering last February and has since been deported to China.

Although he cooperated extensively with investigators and agreed to testify against other defendants in the case, Wang apparently will not be a witness in the Joseph-Motta trial. He is not listed as a witness by either the prosecution or defense.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Brady would not comment on the upcoming trial.

Motta has a minor criminal record. He is a graduate of the University of Hawai'i-Hilo where he majored in political science and was elected president of the student body.

According to court statements from Wang and Brady, Wang hired Motta after a meeting on the Big Island in which Motta promised to protect Wang's gambling casinos from competitors.

Newly elected Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi said he and Motta were university students together and news that Motta had been charged in the golf course murders was "shocking and disappointing" to him.

Kenoi attended and spoke briefly at an October 2004 fundraiser held on Motta's behalf.

"I know his parents. We live in a small town and when allegations surface, you don't suddenly act like you don't know the person," Kenoi said in an interview last year. "This is the Big Island. Everybody knows everybody."

When Motta was first charged by Honolulu city prosecutors in the Pali case, he was released on $1 million bail that was secured by real estate owned by relatives of Motta and his longtime girlfriend, according to court records.

Motta has been held without bail since the U.S. attorney's office took over the case in 2006 and argued that he is too dangerous to be allowed back in the community. Motta filed a financial affidavit in March 2006 that said he was unemployed and had no assets other than $150 in a bank account.

Rodney Joseph Jr.'s criminal record includes convictions for burglary and terroristic threatening.

Joseph, 40, is an accomplished heavyweight kickboxer and has been active in Leeward Coast boxing circles.

When the federal racketeering indictment in the Pali shooting case was returned in 2006, U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo said in a news conference, "This case makes one thing clear. We cannot sit on our hands and allow organized crime to grow like a virus in this state."

The trial is expected to last five to six weeks.

Opening statements were scheduled to begin this morning, but were delayed after Joseph's lawyer, Reggie Minn, yesterday said in court papers that prosecutors had just given him a three-hour tape recording of a conversation between Motta and a "confidential informant" that allegedly contains "admissions" about the shootings.

Minn asked for separate trials of Joseph and Motta. The issue will be discussed in a 9 a.m. hearing today.