HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – After nearly two days of deliberation, a federal jury returned a not guilty verdict Friday in the sprawling bribery case against Keith Kaneshiro, Honolulu’s longest-serving prosecutor.

The decision comes nearly two years after Kaneshiro and five others were indicted on conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, bribery and conspiracy against rights. Verdicts were also handed down for the others in the case — all campaign donors affiliated with a high-profile Honolulu engineering firm.

Firm owner Dennis Mitsunaga, who was jailed during trial following new allegations of witness tampering, was also found not guilty.

The jury also delivered not guilty verdicts for the others in the case: Executive Aaron Fujii, executive Chad McDonald, firm Executive Director Terri Ann Otani, and firm attorney Sheri Tanaka.

After the verdict was read, Kaneshiro spoke to reporters, reacting to the decision and expressing his frustration over how the media handled the case.

“I feel vindicated,” he said. “But how am I going to get back my reputation? Because all the information that’s been going out how been negative about me.”

Attorney Sheri Tanaka also spoke, getting emotional about how everything played out.

“This was completely wrong what happened,” she said. “And I think … what the government did for each one of our families, what they put us through, the horrific things they did, of pitting family members against friends, and every step of the way, it was awful. And we’re so very grateful that justice was served today.”

Jurors started their deliberations in the case on Wednesday, after closing arguments wrapped up on the 26th working trial day. In their final pitch to the jury, defense attorneys argued the government hadn’t shown evidence of bribery but had twisted Hawaii traditions of giving and omiyage into something sinister.

The government’s case revolved around campaign donations.

Mitsunaga and his employees, federal prosecutors argued, funneled nearly $50,000 to Kaneshiro’s coffers in exchange for his office going after an enemy of the firm — Laurel Mau, a fired employee who had sued for discrimination.

Mau was an architect at the firm and she’d been accused of stealing by taking side jobs. During trial, Mau said she was directed to take on some of those jobs by firm employees. Meanwhile, some of the jobs were offered pro bono.

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A state judge ultimately threw out the criminal charges against her.

And during the bribery trial, a key witness for the government — retired HPD Officer Rudy Alivado — admitted he lied under oath in multiple court proceedings in order to protect his longtime friend, Mitsunaga, who he’d gone to school with.

One of those cases was Mau’s civil discrimination trial, which she lost.

The Kaneshiro trial was another stunning chapter in a years-long federal corruption probe that previously ended with guilty verdicts against ex-Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine, who was a high-ranking city prosecutor, along with several police officers. The Kealohas remain behind bars.

Separately, the government is pursuing a case against three former high-ranking city officers in connection with a $250,000 payout to Louis Kealoha in 2017.

The Kaneshiro trial also had no shortage of twists and turns.

In addition to Mitsunaga being jailed during the proceedings, the judge in the case — U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright — recused himself after being identified as a victim or witness in a murder-for-hire case linked to the trial.

A new judge was selected to preside over trial.

This story will be updated.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A 59-year-old man is dead after ramming his motorcyclist into a rock embankment on Hawaii Island Thursday evening.

Police responded to the scene around 5:40 p.m. at the intersection of Mamaloha Highway and Leilani Street.

Officials said the motorcyclist overtook several vehicles near the Manuka State Park entrance, before striking a rock embankment and flying off his motorcycle.

He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The motorcyclist remains unidentified at this time, pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.

It’s part of a deadly trend on Hawaii Island roads.

This is now the 18th traffic fatality this year compared to just 8 at this time last year.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HILO — Heavy rain and a flash flood advisory didn’tstop the 2024 Big Island Hawaii Youth Soccer Association (HYSA) Championships from happening as youth club teams across the island ranging from U8 to U19 gathered for the playoff and championship games at Hilo’s popular Bayfront Soccer Fields.

Saturday morning dawned clear with sunny skies which seemingly set the stage for great weather conditions however, by early afternoon, the weather took a dramatic turn, echoing the heavy rain and flash flood advisory that had been issued earlier in the week. The famous saying, “It wouldn’t be Hilo without the rain,” certainly rang true as the skies opened up to a relentless downpour which ultimately transformed the fields into a slippery, muddy mess.

With the heavy rain continuing throughout the afternoon and night, safety concerns led to the cancellation of Sunday morning’s U8, U10 and U12 championship games. Despite these setbacks, BIHYSA organizers quickly adapted moving the older U14, U16, and U19 games to the nearby UH Hilo Vulcan Soccer Field made of synthetic turf. The all-weather pitch proved to be a saving grace which allowed the championship games to proceed without further disruption.

Among Sunday’s championship matches, three Kona Crush teams — U14 Girls, U14 Boys Premier and U19 Boys made it to the final round which became an instant east-side versus west-side, or Hilo versus Kona matchup. In a gut-wrenching overtime followed by penalty kicks, the U14 Girls Kona Crush Soccer Academy were narrowly defeated by Surf 10G Academy. Later, the U19 Kona Crush Boys gave it their all but ultimately fell short (2 – 1) against Rush BI 2005B.

The Kona Crush U14 Boy’s Premier team faced off against their cross-island rival — the undefeated Rush BI 2010B Premier team — who had bested them twice during the regular season. The transition to turf facilitated an exciting game on both sides, showcasing adept ball handling skills, powerful headers and precision shots throughout the match.

Rush BI took a 2 – 0 lead during the beginning of the first half, but Kona Crush quickly rallied with winger Remi Heimgartner scoring a goal followed by a hat-trick from Bodie Buczyna giving Crush a 4 – 2 lead. From there it was a dog-fight till the end with Rush BI scoring four goals and Crush scoring another three from a combination of an own goal, Buczyna and striker, Carson Wilt.

For spectators the game were both intense and thrilling, but in the end, it was the Kona Crush U14 Boy’s Premier who emerged victorious 7 – 6.

Walking off the synthetic pitch after scoring four goals and wearing his championship medal around his neck, Buczyna had a wide smile. The 14-year old who attends Hawaii Preparatory Academy, said he started playing soccer at age 4. He follows Barcelona and his favorite player is Pablo Gavi.

“I was really confident going into it,” Buczyna said of his preparation for the game. “I think our team played just like we should have. We lost to Rush two games in a row (in the regular season), but coming into the game, we knew we trained for this so I knew we were ready for them. I knew we were going to win.”

Buczyna added that after his first goal, he kept finding open spaces. Soccer phenom and center mid-fielder, Koa Kreps, helped to create opportunities by providing key assists to make the goals look as seamless as watching professional soccer.

Fabian Rummel, who is the Director of Technical Development and Head Coach for U14 Boys Premier and U16 Girls, was ecstatic of the team’s win stating, “It was brilliant!”

“At the end of the day we won against Rush Boys who we haven’t won in a long while as they have been unbeaten all season,” said the 29-year old German native. “I think we should’ve had a chance when we played the first game against them (in the regular season), and they got the better of us in the second game, but today was an open game on both sides and at the end of the day, we deserved to win and I’m super proud of the boys.”

Rummel added that the difference was the level of play and intensity that his team brought to the pitch.

“I think mostly it’s about bringing the intensity for the boys,” he said. “They know that if they show up and play up to their level, they are not beatable on the island. They also did well at the (Hawaii) State Cup, they got the feeling and the taste of how we can play really well. And ever since then, they know that when we show up, we have a quality team.

“I’m also super proud of the (U14) girls. I know they lost in the final today after being the regular season champions. To see them grow as a group and how they work together has been brilliant to see, and so I’m super happy for them and all the U14 teams.”

Players on the Kona Crush U14 Boys Premier team were Bodie Buczyna, TJ Detwiler, Carson Wilt, Cole Polhemus, Kauanoe Park-Vares, Remi Heimgartner, Koa Kreps, Hawea “Buffalo” Alapai, Makena Young, Leimana David-Champman, Wade Ritchie, ‘A’ali’i Wengler-Ioane, and Makana Shimabukuro. Other rostered players were Benjamin Harms, Cole Henderson, Hana Kreps, Vaiana Lussiaa, and Evangeline Lehmann.

The five club soccer teams who won their respective “A Brackets” in the BIHYSA Championships in Hilo and crowned champions were the following:

U14 Boys Champions – Kona Crush 14 U Premier

(Finalists – Rush BI 2010B Premier)

U14 Girls Champions – Surf 10G Academy

(Finalists – Kona Crush Soccer Academy 14U Girls)

U16 Boys Champions – Na Hoa O Puna 16UB

(Finalists – Rush BI 2008B)

U19 Girls Champions – Rush BI 2006G

(Finalists – Surf 06G Academy)

U19 Boys Champions – Rush BI 2005B

(Finalists – Kona Crush Soccer Academy 19U)