Scandals within government feed the narrative that government overall is corrupt.
Such conclusions are subjective, however plenty of claims, statements and a record of past transgressions (including legal actions against those within government here) connect the dots between the perception of corruption and its reality.
Recently, Vice President JD Vance labeled Hawai‘i as a failure in Medicaid fraud prosecutions. Those accusations were rejected by the State Attorney General but, as with most allegations, it's the finger pointing that's remembered, and the responses are often lost in the cycle. The guilt by association leads to the perceived affirmation that Hawai‘i is corrupt.
Speaking of the State Attorney General, she and her office are on the other side of the coin. The declared investigation into bribery and fraud allegations that a high ranking, elected official in the Big Square Building allegedly took a paper bag filled with $35,000 in cash is still unresolved. Despite the cloudiness of the allegations the perception is, in fact, that not only did it occur, but all that remains is identifying which lawmaker took it.
Whether or not we accept these assessments by outsiders or listen to locals who lament the scarring of Hawai‘i's reputation, there is unfortunately a roster of documented cases that bolster the argument of corruption here at home.
In 1982, reminds The Heritage Foundation, "27 individuals participated in an illegal scheme to boost Honolulu voter registrations for candidate Ross Segawa. Segawa was convicted on 10 counts of election fraud, criminal solicitation, and evidence of tampering. Segawa served a year in prison and was expelled from law school. State Sen. Clifford Uwaine was convicted of conspiring to illegally register voters and served three months in jail; and Debra Kawaoka, an aide to Uwaine who also played a part in the false registration, served numerous weekends in prison. Brian Minaai and the other students each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor."
2001, Hawai‘i News Now reported on Andy Mirikitani's sentencing, "He will spend more than four years behind bars. He used a kickback scheme to steal thousands of dollars from the city. Now, Mirikitani will pay for his crimes. Mirikitani's sentence, four years three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay back the money he stole."
2002, Hawai‘i News Now again, reported on the sentencing of former state Sen. Marshall Ige. "A state judge sentenced Marshall Ige to six months in jail after being convicted in two separate cases. The first involved a couple from Beverly Hills approaching Ige in 1998, asking he clear their daughter's criminal record of two drug convictions. Ige said he could do it for $30,000 dollars. When he never came through, they contacted the Attorney General's office. The second case involved this farmer who leased 5 acres of land from the former Senator. In 1999, Ige threatened to evict Hanh Lam if he did not pay $7,000 dollars, in advanced rent."
Here's the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in 2003, reporting on the sentencing of Gary Rodrigues. "[O]nce one of the most powerful union leaders in Hawai'i, [he] will be able to remain free for as long as an estimated two years as he appeals his federal prison sentence of five years and four months for felony convictions of mail fraud, embezzling union money and related charges. A federal jury convicted Rodrigues in November last year on 101 felony counts, accusing him of taking kickbacks and steering phony union consulting contracts to his daughter."
These cases proved to be the highlights of the lowlights when it came to scandals well over 20-plus years ago. But the revelations of power grabbing, manipulation, and so much more within a beloved Hawaiian institution defined the most public and devastating story of corruption in our history — the Bishop Estate scandal that played out from 1997 to 1999.
This one got national attention, as this lengthy 1999 Los Angeles Times article attests. Trustees then — "Gerard Jervis, 50; Henry Peters, 58; Richard “Dickie” Wong, 65; Oswald Stender, 67; and Lokelani Lindsey, 60" — famously made $840,000 a year in commissions. That's $1.7 million in 2026 dollars.
"The estate became the center of public melodrama in 1997, when the school community learned of a private confrontation between Lindsey, the lead trustee for education, and student body President Kamani Kuala’au, who was bound for Princeton University," wrote the LA Times. Lindsey reportedly threatened the student by calling Princeton to jeopardize his academic career. Once word got out protesters marched on the Bishop Estate offices demanding that Lindsey to "stop meddling".
This led to the "Broken Trust" essay appearing in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin alleging mismanagement of trust assets, conflicts of interests by individual trustees and poor selection of trustees, who are named by members of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. Other developments ensued including internal lawsuits calling for the removal of Lindsey, the state attorney general accusing the trustees of using trust assets to create an economic empire, engaging in kickback schemes, awarding improper contracts, making sweetheart deals for relatives and friends and using improper business practices.
Perhaps the most sordid, yet tragic, story involved a Bishop Estate trustee and an Estate team member caught engaging in sexual infidelity in a hotel restroom. The public revelations led to the suicide of the woman involved and the attempted suicide of the trustee. I'm purposefully redacting names because I want to. Even after so many years later, enough is enough.
The dissolution of the Bishop Estate, the criminal to immoral conduct of the trustees (Oz Stender was never implicated) and the incredible shock and awe of the betrayal of the Princess's legacy remains the most troubling scandal to this day.
Is corruption in Hawai‘i a reality or a perception?
Depends on where you look.
But let's turn the light on.
In recent years, State Sen. Kalani English, State Representative Ty Cullen, HPD Chief Louis and Prosecuting Attorney Katherine Kealoha were each public servants found guilty of crimes and served time proving that scandal and corruption exists today.
And these are the only the cases we can confirm.
I will say this.
Hawai‘i has its scandalous moments because humanity is imperfect. As long as you have humans operating with a public expectation of perfection, some (not all) will succumb to failures. However, it is unfair to cast aspersion upon every governmental agency, elected official or public servant because that's a patently false premise. Most serve honorably. It's how you identify, investigate and prioritize the consequential actions against violators that makes a lasting and influential impact.
And the State of Hawai‘i has this opportunity to define our reputation regarding corruption starting with the swift and transparent answering of this question.
Who the hell took $35,000 in a paper bag?
Solve this and perhaps our state will be on the road to reputational repair.
Rick Hamada can be reached at rickhamada@aol.com.
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