Buzzards in the Bank of Honolulu

Buzzards in the

Bank of Honolulu

~ o ~

November 19, 2007

Hawaii bankruptcies still
active years later

By Jim Dooley, Advertiser Staff Writer

It's been almost 10 years since Sukamto Sia, the high-rolling former Honolulu bank owner and real estate dealer, filed a $300 million personal bankruptcy case — and it still hasn't been resolved.

Sia's case is not the oldest bankruptcy pending in Hawai'i. A computer search of court dockets showed that there are 22 open cases filed between 1992 and 2000, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid debts.

Several of the bankruptcies generated financial and social shockwaves when they were filed. Sia's case was notable because of his flamboyant lifestyle and the related financial collapse of the Bank of Honolulu.

The old cases, while still unresolved, have dwindled away to obscurity.

As they drag out there is "less money ... to pay creditors," bankruptcy attorney Dawn Smith said. "Usually there are administrative expenses that have to be paid to attorneys, accountants, appraisers and so forth."

Those expenditures can result in recovery of money owed to the bankrupt estate and later distributed to creditors, but Smith noted that for creditors "waiting years and years for payment means they've lost the use of that money and interest it could have been earning."

The oldest active case is the 1992 Hamakua Sugar bankruptcy, in which one of the largest sugar plantations in Hawai'i closed its doors, throwing some 700 employees out of work and idling cultivation of some 35,000 acres of land on the Big Island. The bankruptcy case was first closed in 1999 but reopened in 2004 to deal with a $36,000 fuel rebate apparently owed to the bankrupt estate. That collection issue is unresolved.

According to paperwork filed when the case was reopened, even if the money is collected, it won't come close to paying all the bills in the case.

"The total amount of unpaid administrative (expenses) in this case is $1.2 million," the Office of the U.S. Trustee reported. "There are over 1,200 administrative claimants comprised of government agencies, former employees, landlords, professionals, and others."

The oldest personal bankruptcy case still active here is that of Marlene Lindsey, sister of former Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey.

The sisters were convicted in 2002 of federal money-laundering and tax charges connected to Marlene Lindsey's bankruptcy case. The bankruptcy remains open while Lokelani Lindsey, who once collected $1 million per year from the Bishop Estate and was one of the most powerful and controversial women in Hawai'i, makes $300 monthly restitution payments to her sister's bankrupt estate.

As of July 31, she had managed to pay $5,000 of the $35,000 she was ordered to repay in 2002.

Other cases include that of Mahalo Air, the startup interisland air carrier that launched service here in 1993 and shut its doors with a 1997 bankruptcy filing that is still active.

The financial failure of Gray Line Hawaii Ltd., the state's third-largest tour bus company, which shut its doors in 1997, is also generating paperwork in Bankruptcy Court.

In the Sia case, a lot has happened to the Indonesian-born businessman since he filed the bankruptcy action in 1998, listing among his debts tens of millions of dollars owed to gambling casinos in Las Vegas, London and Asia.

He was convicted in 2002 of bank and bankruptcy fraud related to the financial collapse and federal takeover of the Bank of Honolulu. He served three years in federal prison and was deported and forbidden ever to return to the United States.

Just a few months ago, he married Kelly Randall, who was his co-defendant in the fraud case, in a lavish wedding at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco.

A few friends from Honolulu attended the July nuptials, including state Senate vice president Donna Mercado Kim and Waikiki's "Ambassador of Aloha," entertainer Danny Kaleikini, according to news accounts of the event.

Attempts to reach Kim, Kaleikini and Linda Wong, another Honolulu friend of Sia's who attended the Monaco wedding, were unsuccessful.

Sia and Randall could not be reached. Sia's local bankruptcy attorney, Noah Fiddler, did not return telephone calls for comment.

Sia still owes more than $200 million to creditors around the world. Randall owes more than $1 million because of a series of transfers of assets Sia made to her, according to documents in the case.

Some creditors wonder where the money came from for the European wedding.

"I don't doubt there are still millions dollars out there which were never found," said Paul Alston, local attorney for an Asian bank owed more than $4 million.

The largest single creditor in the case is CommerzBank (Southeast Asia), which is owed some $41 million, according to case records.

According to accounts of the wedding published in two Singapore-based magazines, it was an exclusive and expensive affair.

Guido Giacometti, the court-appointed private trustee in charge of the Sia bankruptcy case, said he believes it will be closed in the next few months.

"We found all the pockets (of money) that we could," he said.

The Office of the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Justice Department that oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, stresses the need to close cases as quickly as possible, Giacometti said.

"We stay in close touch with the office," Giacometti said. "There are cases like this one which stretch out over years and I think the U.S. Trustee's office understands that."

He added: "This was a very complex case with international aspects and with connections to criminal proceedings. Next year it will be 10 years since the case was filed and I'm as anxious to close it as anyone else involved."

Carol Muranaka, assistant U.S. trustee in charge of the Hawai'i office, declined comment, referring questions to Steven Katzman, head of the U.S. Trustee's regional office in San Diego.

Katzman, who oversees bankruptcy administration in Southern California, Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan, was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

ACTIVE BANKRUPTCIES

Hawai'i bankruptcies filed 1992-2000 that are still active:

1992: Hamakua Sugar Co. Inc.

1994: Papa Bay Inc.

1995: Lindsey, Marlene

1996:

Gray Line Hawaii Ltd.

Industrial Technology Inc.

1997:

Mahalo Air Inc.

Kunimoto, Allan

Upland partners

1998:

Hawaiian International Service & Tours

Syntech, Ltd.

Ho'Ano Inc.

Sia, Sukamto

1999:

Oahu Construction Co. Ltd.

Harmon, Bobby

Multimedia Pacific Inc.

Hawaiian Super Prix LLC & Frontier Insurance Group

Hawaiian Grocery Stores Ltd.

2000:

Lee, Tanya

Midpac Lumber Co. Ltd.

Cg Investments Inc.

Cabuloy, Vicente

Giacometti v. Arton Bermuda Ltd. (related to 1998 Sia case)

Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com

From the Kamehameha Schools website:

Trustee Diane J. Plotts

After coming to Hawai'i in 1962, Diane Plotts began a long partnership with Hemmeter Investment Company and related entities. Developments included Kings Alley (now Kings Village), Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Hyatt Regency Maui, Hyatt Regency Waikoloa (now Hilton), Westin Maui and Westin (now Marriott) Kauai.

Diane J. Plotts received her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from San Jose State University in 1958, and served as a finance officer in the US Air Force.

A founding director of the Bank of Honolulu, Plotts currently holds business directorships with Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. is current chair of HEI’s Audit Committee and past chair of its Compensation Committee. She also currently chairs the audit committee for American Savings Bank.

Plotts is active in community service and has served the National Symphony Orchestra-Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.; Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Aloha United Way; Honolulu Symphony; University of Hawaii Board of Regents; University of Hawaii Foundation; Nature Conservancy of Hawaii; Hawaii Community Foundation; National Business Committee for the Arts; Waikiki Improvement Association; Economic Revitalization Task Force; and the Center for International Dispute Resolution.

Plotts serves as a director for the Plaza Club and is the first female President of the Oahu Country Club.

http://www.ksbe.edu/about/trustees/Trustee_Plotts.php

November 28, 2003

Developer Christopher Hemmeter
dies at age 64

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

Christopher B. Hemmeter, a prolific developer who built some of Hawaii's most notable hotels and resorts, died Thursday at his Los Angeles home. He was 64.

Eight months ago he was diagnosed with severe liver cancer. He also had been coping with Parkinson's disease. This was his second bout with cancer.

Sharing memories of his father, son Mark Hemmeter told PBN from Los Angeles, "Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday because it was all about just family. Our whole family was with him yesterday, and it was very peaceful."

Hemmeter came to Hawaii in the 1960s and became a noted developer while still in his 20s, along with partners Henry Shigekane and Diane Plotts. Many credit Hemmeter with creating the concept of a destination resort. He moved to the mainland in 1991 and became a casino developer in Colorado and New Orleans. His most recent venture was a successful restaurant near Universal Studios.

Former President Jimmy Carter, Hemmeter's close friend, told PBN for an October profile: "Chris has the uncanny ability to dream ... then put his concepts into practice for the enjoyment of countless others."

"We are extremely saddened by his passing, but we also rejoice as we reflect upon his life," the family said in a statement Friday. "He stood for all that was good in us and gave unselfishly of his time and energy. He will be greatly missed. His affection and caring for others, his charisma, and his professional accomplishments lead many people to pronounce that he was truly 'larger than life.'"

For his accomplishments, Hemmeter has received numerous awards including being named twice as the Businessman of the Year, Salesperson of the Year, Marketing Man of the Year and Islander of the Year in Hawaii. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement in 1979. In 1991 Hemmeter was selected the Independent Hotelier of the World.

Hemmeter's activities went beyond the hotel industry. He was the founder and chairman of the Bank of Honolulu, a director of the First Hawaiian Bank, a director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., a trustee of Punahou School in Honolulu, a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a director of the Carter Center, a director of Morrison Knudsen, a director of Resort Income Investors, and a Trustee Fellow of Cornell University where he received the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award granted to Cornell University graduates.

"Hawaii needs to appreciate his contributions to the visitor industry and the state," close Hemmeter friend and retired Bank of Hawaii CEO Larry Johnson told PBN previously. "His legacy will live here forever."

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Patricia; children Mark and daughter-in-law Lisa, Chris and fiancée Debi, Katie and husband Cully; stepchildren Kelley, Shane, Brendan and wife Brook, and Holli; sister Sally Younge and husband Eric; brother Dr. Mead Hemmeter and wife Mari-Jo; sister-in-law Karen Cook; and six grandchildren, Taylor, Maddy, Annabelle, Austin, Ryan and Quinn.

Private services will be held Sunday in Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the new Christopher B. and Patricia K. Hemmeter Kahaola Hospice Foundation at 1164 Bishop St., Suite 800, Honolulu, HI 96813.

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2003/11/24/daily58.html

Bob Awana - Chief of Staff to Governor Linda Lingle

Hawaii State Government

Bob Awana

Bob Awana assists Governor Linda Lingle in supervising all state departments and in developing and implementing major state initiatives. He thereby ensures that the roles and duties of all department heads and other government officials are carried out in accordance with state statutes and in support of the Governor.

Before assuming his present role, Awana served as Governor Lingle's campaign manager during the 1998 and 2002 gubernatorial elections. He also served as chief of staff of former Honolulu Mayor Eileen Anderson in the early 1980s. Prior to joining the public sector, Awana was the government affairs director for Waste Management, Inc. He was also a partner with the national accounting and consulting firm of Pannell Kerr Forster, and held leadership positions with the Village Resorts hotel chain, Bank of Honolulu and Sea Life Park. Awana is a graduate of St. Louis School.

I am a passionate person for the people. I fight for the underdog. I'm concerned about people who are less advantaged.

Bob Awana

Doing things right ? fairly and ethically ? is high on his priority list. He doesn't want to play games. He's very, very upfront with you, and you don't have to read between the lines.

Stan Koki, former state senator

http://bobaw.4t.com/

August 6, 2004

Sukamto Sia’s Lawyers To Pay
$6 Million In Settlement

By Tim Ruel, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

A Honolulu attorney and a high-powered law firm that represented imprisoned businessman Sukamto Sia during his bankruptcy proceedings must pay $6.25 million in a settlement over allegations they helped the former Indonesian investor hide assets from creditors.

Attorney Renton Nip and the former Washington, D.C., law firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand must pay the money to Sia’s bankruptcy estate, a Singapore bank, casinos that are owed money by Sia and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Sia pleaded guilty to federal bankruptcy fraud in 2001 and is in prison in Big Springs, Texas. He was to be released next month but his sentence has been placed in an indefinite status because Sia was recently found in contempt for not complying with a U.S. Bankruptcy Court order.

Sia’s bankruptcy trustee Guido Giacometti sued Verner Liipfert and Nip in 2002, saying they “entered into an overarching conspiracy to conceal and divert assets from (Sia’s) bankruptcy estate.” Later, the Singapore bank and the casinos filed separate lawsuits over similar allegations.

“I know in my heart that the suits were not fair and not right. The settlement, however excessive, brings the Chinese water torture finally to an end,” Nip said yesterday. He declined to elaborate.”

Warren Price III, attorney for the former Verner Liipfert law firm, said the defendants settled based on the decision of their insurance carrier, and that the settlement will be covered by insurance. Verner Liipfert and Nip dispute all of the claims against them.

“There were a number of parties involved and the defense costs were just going to be horrendous,” Price said.

Nip, who shares a law office with former Gov. John Waihee, was once affiliated with Verner Liipfert, which has since merged into the national law firm Piper Rudnick.

Under the settlement, approved last week by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King, Nip and Verner Liipfert do not admit liability. The casino companies, including London Clubs International plc, Aspinall’s Club Ltd. and Rio Casino, will get $2.5 million from the settlement, which is not as much as the $12 million in initial claims they filed against Sia’s bankruptcy estate.

The suits against Sia’s former lawyers will be dismissed and the casinos are waiving their right to seek more money from the bankruptcy estate.

Sia, who once was involved in selling land to the state for the $350 million Hawaii Convention Center, ran into financial problems with creditors in 1998. He filed bankruptcy in Honolulu, claiming he had nearly $300 million in debts and only $9.3 million in assets. Giacometti has since estimated the face value of Sia’s assets at $53 million.

Giacometti has raised $7.4 million for creditors, and the estate will receive another $1.25 million for its role as receiver for the now-defunct Bank of Honolulu, where Sia was once chairman and Nip was a director.

Another $1.25 million from the settlement will go to an Asian unit of Commerzbank AG, a major bank based in Germany.

Meanwhile, Giacometti said he is in talks to resolve the contempt order that is keeping Sia in prison. A local attorney for Sia declined comment yesterday....

October 10, 2003

Hemmeter projects and
persona larger than life

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Gina Mangieri

Chris Hemmeter is not one to tinker. In projects from the 1970s through the 1990s, he preferred to start with a gigantic clean slate -- which meant a lot of razing, digging and grading -- before turning his visions into grand developments.

The Hyatt Waikoloa Village, now Hilton, is like Disneyland without the rides -- except for a 175-foot water slide and both boats and trams to shuttle guests through the property. More than $7 million was invested in artwork for an open-air gallery, which includes statues of mainland mountain animals. The project used enough pink flagstone from Arizona to stretch 75 miles if laid end to end.

Hemmeter's Kauai project, too, got over-the-top treatment. The 356-room resort includes a 26,000-square-foot pool -- the largest in Hawaii. Its champion-designed links would be followed by a golf-course boom that would leave 30 new courses in the islands in 10 years. The original hotel grounds included many larger-than-life sculptures, which the new owners removed.

"I remember looking at his hotel in Kauai after it was built, and to me it was kind of weird," former Hawaiian Electric CEO Dudley Pratt recalls. "It was all for show."

Others in Hawaii agreed some projects were over the top. Environmental groups criticized the operating requirements of his hotels in everything from water and electricity consumption to waterfront development approaches.

Hemmeter filled in 1.8 acres of submerged lands to develop Waikoloa. It's a point of contention today as a land dispute that still has the landowners at odds with state Department of Land and Natural Resources after U.S. District Judge David Ezra ordered the hotel compensate the state for use of public lands. Besides resource consumption, some saw his projects as forgoing Hawaiiana for fantasy.

Hemmeter's response is that a resort must keep the customer's fantasy escape in mind.

"You have to serve customers the wine they want, not the wine you think they should have," Hemmeter said. If developing here today, however, Hemmeter says he would work in a way "more compatible with Hawaii's environment and culture."

President Jimmy Carter agrees Hemmeter has the capacity to develop with nature in mind and says he has flexibility in style.

"Chris' creative mind and love of the natural world ... are evident in the design of the Carter Center," Carter told PBN. "He is constantly probing for excellence, searching always for the cutting edge of exciting achievements and daring experiments in architectural design."

A development that appealed more to the classical senses came in his renovation of the former Armed Forces YMCA on Hotel Street, on the site of the first Royal Hawaiian Hotel built in 1872 and demolished in 1926. He sold it to a Japanese investor, who later sold it to the state to serve as offices and an art museum.

Right place, right time

From 1968 to '71, more than 17,000 hotel rooms came to Waikiki. Money was flowing from investors. Hemmeter was positioned to join the building boom.

And his projects earned a wide visitor following. Hemmeter said Hyatt reaped significant revenue on Oahu and Maui, and even today the Hilton Waikoloa Village is a hit.

"Barron Hilton [hotel chain chairman] told me Waikoloa is their No. 1 resort in performance and popularity," Hemmeter said.

Hemmeter had a knack for seeing possibility where others did not. But he was also in the right place at the right time for his style and taste for design and risk, many say. He built during the bubble, and in a way that some say he probably couldn't have once it burst.

"Later, it could not have been done," Pratt said. "People have come back down to earth."

His major developments in Hawaii rode the 1980s all the way to the top, and few failed to be sold for more than they cost to develop. The Kauai hotel was struck by Hurricane Iniki and sold for a fraction of the $135 million development cost, but the two golf courses -- included in the original development price -- had previously been sold for $250 million.

Hemmeter's only Hawaii project to lose value upon sale was Waikoloa, which sold for about 25 cents on the dollar. Hemmeter and former business partner Diane Plotts said no local lenders were hit with a loss.

"Waikoloa sold for less than we built it for, but it was the kind of project that was needed to activate all the other thousands of acres in Waikoloa," Plotts said.

Bankers familiar with Hemmeter's projects say their operating expenses exceeded revenue, but Hemmeter counters that they must have been successful because "they all sold for extensive profits, except Waikoloa."

Admirers and critics

Plotts and former partner Henry Shigekane both credit Hemmeter as the wizard of Hemmeter Investment Co. But Hemmeter and others say his partners were also essential to his success.

"One of Hemmeter's big strengths is that he surrounded himself with good people," said Stuart Ho, son of Chinn Ho, adding he recalls his father had a favorable impression of Hemmeter back to days together at the Ilikai.

"It was amazing growing up with him as a father," said son Mark Hemmeter, developer in Colorado. "The best lesson I learned was that taking risks is a very good thing."

In an industry where smooth talking, favors and connections can be just as important as a good idea and solid capital, many who know Hemmeter say he and his team instead had unquestioned integrity.

Francis Oda, Group 70 architect, first met Hemmeter when he was developing King's Alley. The development would mean a car-rental agency had to move, and Oda was involved in helping with the agency's new site. Oda recalls Hemmeter made it his personal mission to ensure the agency ended up with lucrative Kalakaua Avenue frontage despite his development.

"He was all over solving their problems for them, and that impressed me," Oda said.

Many others also praise his integrity. Though they also concede his bold endeavors left some people uncomfortable.

"He was so extreme in carrying out his vision," said Beadie Dawson, an attorney, entrepreneur and community leader who recalls meeting Hemmeter in the 1960s when she worked in hotel public relations. "I think there's an element of jealousy out there about what he was able to get done."

"He went into so many projects, some were bound to be controversial," former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi said. "But hey, he made things happen."

A sting after 30 years developing

When the state didn't choose Hemmeter's Aloha Tower development proposal in 1989, many recall a bitter reaction. Hemmeter acknowledges it was a tremendous letdown.

"When I lost it, my comment was, 'I didn't know you wanted two palm trees and chewing gum,'" he said, still critical today of the winning bidder. Today, his bitterness is softened by hindsight. The young man made old before his time by cancer sounds more wounded than angry about the lost deal.

"I was enormously hurt," he said, adding that he had $1.38 billion in financing lined up for the venture.

He said he believes he had the best ideas for the project -- which involved a floating market, a sports arena and an aquarium. He even hung on to his Aloha Tower portfolio, today a timeworn set of renderings yet to be rendered neutral in Hemmeter's imagination. He turns the pages, orchestrating his ideas, and the music he said was his best sales tool still comes through in tones weakened by the slurs of Parkinson's.

"When we lost Chris to the mainland, we lost one of our greatest assets," retired Bank of Hawaii CEO Larry Johnson said of Hemmeter's move to the mainland in 1991.

"There is no one that can fill his shoes," son Mark said.

There is broad consensus that he has set a standard for creativity and productivity. Many compare him with Henry Kaiser who brought so many changes to Hawaii in the decades before Hemmeter's arrival in the 1960s.

Though Hemmeter has lived off-island for more than 10 years, he brought with him upon his return this week a new economic development plan (see page 46) for the islands, one he says would "maximize our assets -- the land and the people."

Many already see him as an important contributor to Hawaii's economic development after statehood. Hemmeter estimates his Hawaii projects have employed as many as 30,000 people.

"Chris Hemmeter is an extraordinary businessman, developer, community leader... and friend," President Carter said.

"Hawaii needs to appreciate his contributions to the visitor industry and the state," Johnson said. "His legacy will live here forever.

- Reach Gina Mangieri, PBN editor, at or gmangieri@bizjournals.com

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2003/10/13/story3.html

October 10, 2003

Hemmeter
still fighting

The one-time Hawaii resort
developer has come back
to town to see friends
and speak his piece

By Russ Lynch, Star-Bulletin

Former Hawaii developer Chris Hemmeter has battled prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease and is now dealing with a killer cancer affecting the bile duct. For Hemmeter, it's a liver transplant or death and his doctors told him he wouldn't make his 64th birthday.

But in a visit with friends in Honolulu this week, which included a party for that birthday, Hemmeter said his biggest trial was dealing with corrupt politicians in New Orleans.

Hemmeter -- who developed King's Alley and the twin-tower Hyatt Regency Waikiki, [on land leased from Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate] as well as luxury resorts such as the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa on the Big Island, now the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and the Westin Maui -- said in an interview that he was upset about the way Louisiana reporters picked on him over his grand plan for a $1 billion casino in New Orleans.

The bottom line to Hemmeter is that while the casino plan failed, it also put Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in federal prison a year ago, to serve a 10-year term for extortion.

And Hemmeter said the luxury resorts he built in Hawaii made real money for him and his family and are now doing well again, despite setbacks under mostly Japanese owners following the burst of the late 1980s Japanese investment bubble.

Hemmeter sold those resorts at big profits, but when he stepped into the murky waters of Mississippi politics he ran aground, leading to the filing of personal bankruptcy by Hemmeter and his wife Patsy in 1997.

It began with the award to the Hemmeter group 10 years ago of a lease for a property designated to house the city's first land-based casino. The 60-year ground lease, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was awarded because "we had the best plan," Hemmeter said.

Enter Edwards, a keen gambler and, according to Hemmeter and other critics, a corrupt politician. Edwards wanted a piece of the action for himself and his cronies and relatives, Hemmeter said. "He let me know in no uncertain terms that he expected his boys cut in on the deal. We said, no way we could do business like that," Hemmeter said. That's when the rot set in, ending with Edwards ignoring the law that said the land owner, in this case Hemmeter's company, would choose the gaming operator and simply telling Hemmeter that his choice of Caesar's as an operator was not going to be approved.

In the end, Edwards forced through a deal with three companies sharing the business, leaving Hemmeter with about a third of it.

"I ended up as a minority investor and watched my investment go down, down, down," Hemmeter said.

Hemmeter, who had kept his Hawaii developments as individual entities, ended up breaking that rule in New Orleans and consolidating several of his companies and pledging several multimillion-dollar homes as collateral for loans. The first casino, on a temporary location intended to get the business started while a new one was built, closed a few months after it opened in 1995, with Edwards' pick Harrah's going bankrupt and bond-holders unable to recover the $400 million they had invested.

That was about the end of the saga, except for the corruption and extortion federal case against Edwards.

During the selection process, Hemmeter paid for Edwards and other Louisiana officials to make luxury trips to Hawaii.

Hemmeter maintains that was all part of the shakedown and said he was vindicated when it was revealed that federal investigators had bugged his phones for 2 1/2 years and in "tens of hours" of tapes and they were unable to show one incident in which Hemmeter did anything wrong. The experience certainly soured him on the location. "I've never set foot in New Orleans, even to change planes, since 1995," he said....

The Hemmeters had a "reverse surprise birthday party" at the Kahala Avenue home of lingerie multilevel marketing moguls Walter and Tiffany James Wednesday night, with a short but elite list of guests invited for what they thought was going to be a video-conference with Hemmeter speaking from the mainland.

Present were three former governors -- George Ariyoshi, John Waihee and Ben Cayetano -- former Mayor Frank Fasi and an array of other Hemmeter friends representing much of the long-time business leadership in the islands.

Guests were delighted when Walter James, who runs UndercoverWear with his wife, confessed that Chris and Patsy Hemmeter were in the house. Hemmeter was welcomed warmly and he said doctors had told him and Patsy that they should not expect him to be around for a 64th birthday party.

One who was completely taken by surprise was Larry Johnson, former chief executive officer of Bank of Hawaii, who had arrived only half an hour earlier on a flight from New York. Johnson said he hadn't showered but his wife Claire told him not to worry because the video link would not detect any body odor.

Thos Rohr, who headed the group that developed the Waikoloa Resort, said the best thing about Hemmeter was that he started at the bottom, as a trainee with Sheraton Hotels here in the early 1960s, and rose to the top, handling deals with hundreds of millions of dollars in the same gracious way he always acted.

Tim Guard, a longtime Hemmeter friend and president of the stevedoring company McCabe, Hamilton & Renny, called the reunion "an evening of smiles."

www.starbulletin.com/2003/10/10/business/story2.html

November 28, 2003

Developer Christopher Hemmeter
dies at age 64

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

Christopher B. Hemmeter, a prolific developer who built some of Hawaii's most notable hotels and resorts, died Thursday at his Los Angeles home. He was 64.

Eight months ago he was diagnosed with severe liver cancer. He also had been coping with Parkinson's disease. This was his second bout with cancer.

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2003/11/24/daily58.html

September 6, 2000

Former isle banker
Sia first ordered freed,
then held pending appeal

By Tim Ruel, Star-Bulletin

A federal judge said today that Asian businessman Sukamto Sia should be released on bail pending an Oct. 31 trial, but agreed to keep him behind bars pending an appeal by the U.S. Attorney General's office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Omer Poirier said he would appeal the bail ruling tomorrow.

While Federal Magistrate