U.S. Dept of Justice, David C. Farmer, Trustee vs. Bobby N. Harmon

Partner, Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, Attorneys at Law, A Law Corporation

Steven Guttman practices in the following areas of law: Real Estate Law; Bankruptcy Law; Corporate Law

Admitted: 1973, Hawaii and U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1977, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Member: Hawaii State (Director and President, Bankruptcy Law Section, 1993) Bar Association; Bankruptcy Roundtable.

Reported Cases: Employee Management Corp. v. Aloha Group, Ltd., 87 Hawaii 350, 956 P.2d 1282 (Hawaii App., Apr 22, 1998)(NO. 19625); International Sav. and Loan Ass'n, Ltd. v. Wiig, 82 Hawaii 197, 921 P.2d 117 (Hawaii, July 12, 1996)(NO. 18232); Arthur v. Sorensen, 80 Hawaii 159, 907 P.2d 745 (Hawaii, Nov 30, 1995) (NO. 17889); Thornley v. Sanchez, 9 Haw. App. 606, 857 P.2d 601 (Hawaii App., Aug 27, 1993)(NO. 15823); Alexander v. Moore & Associates, Inc., 553 F. Supp. 948 (D.Hawaii, Dec 30, 1982)(NO. CIV., 79-0488); Sneed v. Beneficial Finance Co. of Hawaii, 410 F. Supp. 1135, 19 UCC Rep. Serv. 1223 (D.Hawaii, Feb 05, 1976) (NO. CIV. 75-0197); In re Galeai, 31 B.R. 629 (Bankr.D.Hawaii, Oct 23, 1981)(NO. 80-0015).

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The United States Trustee Program has launched an initiative to more aggressively use existing civil enforcement methods to curb abuse of the bankruptcy system, Martha Davis, Acting Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees, announced today.

"Effective case administration is vital to ensure the American public that the bankruptcy system provides relief for honest but unfortunate debtors overcome by serious financial difficulties," Davis stated. "The Civil Enforcement Initiative emanates from the U.S. Trustee Program's long-standing commitment to enforce the Nation's bankruptcy laws and explore other meaningful strategies to bolster public confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of the bankruptcy system."

"The priorities of the initiative will require a concerted effort nationwide to use existing tools in a way that best accomplishes tangible results and improvements for case administration," Davis continued. "Many of our offices use such strategies today and we hope to build upon their experience. By focusing our resources on these priorities, we also seek to address some of the concerns that have been at the forefront of debate in recent years both before Congress and in other public venues. In the end, this is very much a community effort that will require communication and cooperation with private bankruptcy trustees and with the bankruptcy bench and bar."

Ensuring that Chapter 7 is not abused and that Chapter 7 debtors are held accountable.

Chapter 7 debtors who do not comply with the law will have their cases converted or dismissed, or their bankruptcy discharges denied or revoked. Enforcement measures include motions to dismiss Chapter 7 cases under 11 U.S.C. §§ 707(a) and 707(b), and complaints to bar or defer discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727.

Protecting consumer debtors, creditors, and others who are victimized by those who mislead or misinform debtors, make false representations in connection with a bankruptcy case, or otherwise abuse the bankruptcy process.

Attorneys and bankruptcy petition preparers (non-attorneys who prepare bankruptcy documents for a fee) must engage in full disclosure, be free of conflicts of interest, and engage in ethical practices. Enforcement measures include motions for sanctions, contempt of court, and disgorgement under 11 U.S.C. § 329 for misconduct by attorneys, and complaints and motions under 11 U.S.C. § 110 for misconduct by bankruptcy petition preparers....

Fighting fraud and abuse by making criminal referrals and assisting United States Attorneys in criminal prosecutions.

The U.S. Trustee Program is a component of the Justice Department that oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases and intervenes in court to enforce the bankruptcy laws. There are 21 regions in the Program, each headed by a U.S. Trustee appointed by the Attorney General.

The Civil Enforcement Initiative took effect Oct. 1, 2001, with the start of the federal government's 2002 fiscal year. Previous U.S. Trustee Program initiatives have focused on issues such as enhancing the supervision of private trustees who administer Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, increasing the efficiency and speed of Chapter 7 case administration....

NEW DISCOVERY (07/31/09): Steven Guttman is the President of Royal Vista Association of Apartment Owners, which is a major undisclosed conflict of interest in this case due to lawsuits involving Honolulu’s controversial mandatory conversion of residential leasehold condominium properties to fee simple:

NEW DISCOVERY (07/24/09): More undisclosed relationships between David Farmer, Steven Guttman, Robin Campaniano, Rey Graulty, Wayne Metcalf, James Nicholson, Jim Nicholson, Phillip Winn, John Waihee, Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Norm Brownstein, Larry Mizel, Leonard Millman, Gail Norton, Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, The Nature Conservancy, Goldman Sachs, Chubb Group, AIG, HUD, AIPAC, HonFed, Investors Equity Insurance Co., etc.

NEW DISCOVERIES (05-12-09): More factual evidence of undisclosed conflicts of interest between Judge David A. Ezra and other parties in this case:

NEW DISCOVERY (05-08-09): New Zoominfo profile of Steven Guttman, Esq. revealing numerous undisclosed conflicts of interests:

NEW DISCOVERY (04/14/09): More undisclosed conflicts-of-interest between David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Paul Lynch, Judge Alan Kay, Dan Case, etc.:

Honolulu law firm Lynch Ichida Thompson & Hirota has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and saw all but one of its attorneys leave the firm this week.

The general practice and civil litigation firm, which employed seven attorneys, filed for bankruptcy reorganization on Feb. 17.

Since then, partners Wesley Ichida, William F. Thompson III and Maile Hirota have left the firm. Two of them have started new firms, according to records with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

The bankruptcy filing, signed by Paul A. Lynch as president of the firm, lists Lynch Ichida Thompson & Hirota’s assets at more than $500,000 and debts at more than $300,000.

The case is scheduled for a March 16 hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Faris. Within days of the bankruptcy filing, the trustee overseeing the case filed a motion to have it dismissed because the petition was missing a key document, the corporate resolution that is supposed to show that the firm’s entire board of directors - the four partners — authorized the filing.

Attorney Steven Guttman of the Honolulu law firm Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga said the board didn’t sign off on the filing. He was hired by Ichida and Horita to represent them in the bankruptcy case.

“Mr. Ichida, Mr. Thompson and Ms. Hirota do not support the petition filed by Mr. Lynch,” Guttman told PBN. He said the former partners won’t oppose the motion to dismiss the case.

According to the bankruptcy filing, the law firm’s biggest creditor is ReOrient8 LLC, owed $82,000. Until Feb. 13, Wesley Ichida was listed as the agent for the company, according to state DCCA records, which do not include a description of ReOrient8’s business purpose.

The filing also lists $15,000 owed to Douglas Emmett for the lease on the law firm’s 14th floor offices at 1132 Bishop St. in downtown Honolulu, about $13,500 owed to Marsh & McLennan Cos. for insurance and thousands of dollars owed to companies such as Hawaiian Telcom, Martindale-Hubbell and LexisNexis.

Ichida, Thompson and Hirota declined to discuss the bankruptcy filing and their decisions to leave the firm, which was incorporated in 1999.

State DCCA records show that Ichida and Hirota each have established and registered new limited liability law companies in recent weeks. Hirota established Hirota & Associates on Feb. 9.

Ichida joined with another of the firm’s attorneys, Ann Kemp, and established Ichida, Kemp on Feb. 12.

The Hawaii Rules for Professional Conduct prohibit law firms from continuing to use the name of a partner who has left the firm and is actively practicing law elsewhere. It could not be immediately determined how the former Lynch Ichida Thompson & Hirota firm will be renamed.

The firm specialized in civil litigation, bankruptcy, real estate, construction, securities, insurance defense, immigration and family law, and adoptions, according to its Web site.

Insurance Defense, Automobile, Product Liability, Professional Liability, Casualty, Coverage Issues, Aviation, Bad Faith, Admiralty and Maritime Law, Securities, Commercial Law, Construction Litigation, Professional Errors and Omissions, Subrogation, Investigation and Adjustment

Firm Profile: Lynch, Ichida, Thompson & Hirota, A Law Corporation (formerly of the Honolulu Office of Case & Lynch and Lynch & Farmer), as of February 1, 1999, formed a law corporation which presently consists of four, general principals, Paul A. Lynch, Wesley W. Ichida, William F. Thompson III, and Maile M. Hirota; two associates, Ann C. Kemp and Tony Tran, and one of counsel, J. Gregory Turnbull.

Language proficiencies in the firm include Tagalog, Ilocano, and Japanese. Our principal office is located in Honolulu, with statewide access to legal services on each of the island counties.

The firm engages in the general practice of law including, civil litigation, emphasizing collections, real property, construction, admiralty, securities, professional errors and omissions, insurance defense, family law, immigration, nationality and international law (including adoptions).

Non-Insurance Company Clients AAO Services, Inc. Adventist Risk Management, Inc. Brown Jordan International, Inc. Dell Computer Corporation HMS Insurance Agency, Inc. National Mortgage & Finance Co., Ltd. Peerless Coffee Company, Inc. Trivest Partners Whirlpool Corporation Wiss Janney Elstner Associates, Inc. ~ ~ ~

A Nevada investor has outbid Citibank on 32 residential and two commercial units at Executive Centre, the downtown high rise that once belonged to Indonesian investor Sukamto Sia.

But with court confirmation and another round of bids possibly ahead, ownership of the property is yet to be determined.

Clifford Laughton, president of the Reno-based Nevada Holdings Ltd. and chief executive at Honolulu-based satellite company Columbia Communications Corp., yesterday made the winning bid of $4,000,100.

Laughton's bid topped a $4 million offer by Citibank N.A., the only other bidder at a foreclosure auction at the state courthouse yesterday.

The leasehold properties include 31 residential units, a penthouse, two commercial spaces occupied by Sprint Hawaii and Fujikami Florist and 65 parking stalls.

The heavily mortgaged 41-story building, at 1088 Bishop Street also includes a 120-room Aston hotel, retail outlets including Long's Drugs and Ross Dress For Less and nearly 300 residential units.

Citibank, the major creditor in a foreclosure action against one of Sia's company's, MKS Executive Partners, took possession last month of most of the 41-story building in a complex bankruptcy deal in which Sia's estate will receive about $500,000.

Sia, currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November 1998.

While Citibank yesterday allowed itself to be outbid by $100, the sale is far from over. Under rules of the foreclosure, new bids may be entertained at confirmation but must be at least 5 percent above the auction price.

Foreclosure commissioner John Candon said at least three parties who were silent during yesterday's auction have asked when the confirmation hearing would be. No date has been set.

Laughton yesterday said he would likely honor existing leases at Executive Centre if he remains the high bidder. He said the units are a good investment because of depressed property values and a strong rental market in the downtown area.

While Executive Centre was once a key holding of Sia in Honolulu, the bankruptcy trustee was unable to liquidate the property for creditors because Sia held no equity in it.

His ownership in the building was through MKS Executive Partners, one of his numerous companies.

The 40-year-old businessman owes nearly $300 million to casinos, banks and creditors around the world.

NEW DISCOVERY (03-14-09): More undisclosed conflicts of interest between Steven Guttman, Mary Lou Woo, David Farmer, Larry Johnson, Robert Kihune, Sandwich Isles Communications, Bank of Hawaii, Gilbert Tam, Barack Obama, Steve Case, AOL, Dan Case, Punahou School, Citigroup, Robert Rubin, Goldman Sachs, Kamehameha Schools, etc.

Former Bank of Hawaii Chief Executive Michael O'Neill reportedly is one of the candidates being considered for a position on the board of directors at financially troubled Citigroup Inc.

O'Neill, who turned around Bankoh's lagging fortunes in less than four years before retiring at age 57 in August 2004, was mentioned along with former U.S. Bancorp CEO Jerry Grundhofer and William S. Thompson, former co-chief of bond investment manager Pimco, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper said Citigroup is expected to announce the board changes next week when it files its proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any nominees would have to be formally approved by the board and voted on by shareholders.

O'Neill took over then-called Pacific Century Financial Corp. from Larry Johnson on Nov. 3, 2000, and in less than four years transformed the bank into a more efficient operation, elevated earnings to record highs and increased shareholder value nearly fourfold.

He also became somewhat of a TV personality with the bank's "Tell Mike" campaign.

Richard Parsons, a one-time University of Hawaii student who took over as chairman last month, is one of the few Citigroup directors with experience in both banking and leading a large company.

NEW DISCOVERY (02-04-09): More undisclosed conflicts of interest between David Farmer, James Nicholson, Steven Guttman, Paul Alston, Judith Neustadter Fuqua, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Mukasey, Eric Holder, and other witnesses in this case:

“I was wondering when you were going to call me,” so said the irrepressible Nolanda Butler Hill when I phoned last week.

She knew precisely what item of news had prompted me to call: the revelation that Barack Obama had selected Clinton Deputy Attorney General and Ron Brown protege, Eric Holder, to help vet his vice presidential candidates.

As the confidante and business partner of the late Clinton Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Hill knows from personal experience that Holder’s sins go well beyond his seamy role in the Marc Rich pardon scandal.

In the way of background, in May 1995, Clinton’s unpredictable Attorney General Janet Reno called for an independent counsel to assess whether Ron Brown had “accepted things of value” from Hill in exchange for his influence.

Reno’s pursuit of Brown did not shock either of them. He had been the subject of an inquiry for months. Targeting Hill, however, had no precedent, and it unnerved them both.

By statute, the independent counsel law applied only to political and government figures. “It was unlawful,” says Hill of her own targeting, “I was the only such person in history.”

In time, the independent counsel also targeted Brown’s son, Michael, for laundering money to his father through a scam minority set aside deal with a sleazy pair of Asian-American fundraisers. In Hill’s words, Michael “was as guilty as a goose.”

Hill and Brown both understood that she was being targeted in the hopes that she would roll over on Brown. Her condition for not doing so was that Brown share with her his every point of vulnerability.

Nowhere was Brown more vulnerable than in his unwelcome role as chief bagman for the Clintons’ relentless and often illicit fundraising in the run-up to the 1996 election.

Hill learned virtually every unseemly detail--from Brown’s go-between work with the Chicoms and their American vendors to his wholesale distribution of walking around money to Democratic race hustlers. As Brown understood, Hill knew way too much.

Even before his own mysterious death, Brown worried openly about her life and safety. He went so far as to call Hill’s sister, with whom she stayed from time to time, and insist Hill not be allowed to go out jogging alone.

As soon as Brown died, the independent counsel ceased the investigation into his illicit activities. As to Michael, he pled guilty to a single misdemeanor, accepted a small fine, and was out playing golf with the president a month later.

Not surprisingly, however, the Justice Department kept the pressure on the outspoken Hill, still deeply troubled by the circumstances surrounding Brown’s death.

Hill took heart when, in July 1997, President Clinton appointed Holder to replace Jamie Gorelick as Deputy Attorney General. Although ostensibly second in command, the Deputy AG was the real power in Justice, the Clinton equivalent of a Soviet “political officer.”

Hill knew Holder through Brown, who had been instrumental in getting him his previous job as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

She and her attorney wasted no time in contacting Holder at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, which was held that year in San Francisco in early August.

Holder, however, did not get to be Deputy AG by being naïve. “The train is already going down the tracks,” he explained to Hill. “It will take your cooperation to stop it.”

The “train” in question was a D.C. grand jury, which was being led to indict Hill. The “cooperation” meant Hill keeping her mouth shut.

Hill clarifies, “He [Holder] told me and my attorney that if I told what I knew about election fundraising I would be indicted.”

Holder was as good as his word. On March 13, 1998, ten days before Hill was to testify in a suit brought by Judicial Watch on the subject of Brown’s fundraising, the Clinton Justice Department indicted Hill on trumped up charges of fraud and tax evasion.

The willfully blind lead of the New York Times called the indictment “a vivid example of how an investigation can outlive its target.”

Larry Klayman of Judicial Watch knew better. In a motion to the court, he would write, “The timing of these events is neither accidental nor coincidental. Ms. Hill’s indictment was likely an effort to retaliate against her and deter her from giving any further damaging testimony at the March 23, 1998 hearing.”

At White House bidding, Holder had Hill indicted to shut her up, and he succeeded. Anxious, alone, and broke, facing as many as seventy years in prison if convicted, Hill chose to negotiate a deal.

On June 15, 1999, a day before her fifty-fifth birthday, she reported to a halfway house in Seagoville, Texas, her silence at least temporarily assured.

As James Sanders, my partner on the TWA 800 investigation, can attest, silencing whistleblowers through bogus prosecution was the modus operandi in the Holder era. Sanders and his wife Elizabeth were indicted and convicted on federal conspiracy charges on Holder’s watch.

Although generally appalled by the Clintons, Hill understands how betrayed they must feel when their very proteges desert them for Obama.

Holder did so early on. “Given Holder’s credentials,” the Chicago Tribune reported breathlessly in August 2007, “it isn’t outside the realm of possibility to suggest he could wind up the nation’s first African-American attorney general should Obama win the White House.”

Hill thinks she knows why Holder jumped ship. He was a key player in a racially exclusive cabal of DC insiders. “He’s so racist it’s not even funny,” she says of Holder, “not only racist but elitist.”

Still, no matter how compromised Holder might be, Obama can ill afford to dismiss him from his vice-presidential selection committee.

Obama has already had to dismiss one of the three selectors. If he dismisses a second, it will become absurdly obvious that the real problem is not Holder or Jim Johnson of Countrywide fame, but Mr. Obama himself

CERTIORARI TO THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
(CASE NO. AB 2000-120(M)(7-99-02490)

Petitioner/Employer/Insurance Carrier-Appellant's application for writ of certiorari filed on August 10, 2004, is hereby denied. (1)

J. Ezra Merkin has been ordered to not destroy any financial records related to the dealings of Bernard J. Madoff. Merkin is the chairman of GMAC who runs several hedge funds which invested with Madoff. The dealings came to light when one of Merkin’s clients, New York University, learned that Merkin had lost $24 million of their capital.

The suit claims that Merkin and his hedge fund, Ariel Fund Ltd. and its’ management group Gabriel Capital Corporation, failed on their responsibility of cash management by turning the money over to Madoff for investment. The Ariel Fund Ltd has already announced plans to liquidate their holdings in light of the recent scandal. The suit also mentions Fortis, who partnered with Merkin in the creation of Ariel Fund Ltd. All told, NYU had invested a staggering $94 million into the fund.

As the losses come in from the Madoff scam, the elite of New York City Jewish philanthropy are among the victims, as well as helping to perpetrate the fraud. Merkin is the grandson of Hermann Merkin who was known as a titan of Jewish philanthropy. He donated gave millions to help build Yeshiva University, and the Fifth Avenue Synagogue.

The human expense of the Madoff scheme is mounting. Charitable foundations and lives have been destroyed. Merkin clearly used his influential position and the capital of Yeshiva University to invest $1.8 billion into Bernard Madoff’s firm.

That was little consolation, however, to Yeshiva University, said to have lost $110 million of its endowment; or to Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, the Ramaz School of Manhattan and SAR Academy in Riverdale, said to have lost substantial sums; or to several family foundations belonging to Merkin’s fellow trustees at Yeshiva University, including Robert M. Beren and Ludwig Bravmann.

Another Ascot casualty was a charitable trust founded by real-estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, the chairman of real-estate firm Boston Properties and owner of the New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report. That lost $30 million.

“Without making disclosures in the quarterly reports to investors, and in the face of an extraordinary number of ‘red flags,’ Merkin, for years, simply turned over a substantial portion of Ariel’s funds to Madoff,” said NYU in their complaint.

“Mr. Merkin remains committed to obtaining for shareholders the best results possible in the wake of the terrible fraud committed by Bernard Madoff,” Andrew Levander, attorney for J. Ezra Merkin said.

It’s safe to say the the amount of damage to Jewish philanthropic organizations is significant....

NEW DISCOVERY (12-27-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interests between David Farmer, Steven Guttman, Jeffrey Portnoy, Matsuo Takabuki, Mark McConaghy, Dennis Tsuhako, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sam Silverman, Chinn Ho, Stuart Ho, Aloha Airlines, HonFed, Bank of Honolulu, Sukamto Sia, Diane Plotts, Linda Lingle, Bob Awana, Nathan Aipa, Eric Martinson, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, etc:

IF you tune in NBC's "Dateline" tonight, you should see Honolulu attorney Jeffrey Portnoy. An NBC crew spent two hours with him Wednesday, interviewing him in reference to the case of Sante Kimes and her son, Kenneth, suspected in the disappearance and assumed death of New York socialite Irene Silverman.

Portnoy had represented an insurance company in an earlier case in which Kimes, already convicted of keeping an alien woman in slavery, was suspected of arson when her home went up in flames. He has videotape of Kimes, something all the networks would love to get their hands on, and he provided it to NBC for "Dateline."

Producers of "20/20" have been after him to give them a copy of the tape, even offering to have Barbara Walters call him personally, but he demurred that he'd given it exclusively to NBC. That network told him the Kimes' story is the biggest thing at the network since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

One unasked and unanswered question in the case is did the Kimes family know the missing socialite when she and her husband, Sam Silverman, were in Hawaii around the time they lived here? I knew Sam Silverman as early as 1970 when he was the financial advisor and longtime friend of local business tycoon Chinn Ho. I posed the question and Portnoy answered, "It wouldn't surprise me a bit." ...

by Matsuo Takabuki - 1998 - History - 237 pages -1998 University of Hawaii Press ... from the eyes of Matsy Takabuki working with Chinn Ho and Sam Silverman, ...

Mrs. Silverman, an 82-year-old widow, was probably killed, officials say, ..... Mrs. Kimes filed suit against Chubb and began making threatening calls to Chubb ... were filed in the fire, which was never formally declared to be arson. ... Even before it could be bought, Mrs. Kimes was submitting an insurance claim ...

Matsuo Takabuki 1998 University of Hawaii Press ... Mark McConaghy of Price Waterhouse headed our tax team along with our staff tax ...

Little-known fact: Not a natural blond. Has held the state basketball single-game scoring record (60 points) and scoring average (26.8) since 1966

Major challenge: Promoting cooperation between labor and management pursuant to the spirit and intent of HRS Chapter 89 in a forum that has been traditionally adversarial.

A. My background had been as a union rep with the Kansas City Chiefs years ago when I was playing ball. I went to law school and took classes in labor, got out of law school and worked with the Hawai'i Employers Council as a management negotiator with Al Fraga. I moved from there to become a production manager at Weyerhaeuser Paper Co., and from there I worked for the joint labor management trust fund with the Carpenter's Union. I went on to private practice from there and represented the Teamsters in arbitration and became an arbitrator. This job requires all of that in order to fully understand the relationships between the parties and the collective bargaining process, the grievance process, what unfair labor practice is and what it isn't, and basically trying to promote labor-management cooperation.

Q. Your background seems to be more on the union side. Do people look at that and feel that you may be biased?

A. It seems like it's more union, and management's perception in a lot of cases is once you work for the union you're always union. The majority of us are born in blue-collar families. My dad was an adult corrections officer, my mom was a housekeeper in a hotel. I think all our roots are in labor. One of the reasons I was selected was I have been an arbitrator for over 10 years and you're only selected by mutual agreement between the parties. During this process with the HLRB you have three appointees. One represents labor, one represents management and the chair represents members of the public. That's the position I'm at. I feel that with my background that I've been groomed for this position.

A. The board's mission is to promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between the employers, employees and employee organizations. The whole system is set up traditionally to be adversarial. We're working on changing the administrative rules for our organization to permit us to have more flexibility and give them opportunities to settle disputes on their own, create a vehicle so that if they so chose that they could go to mediation through the board at no expense to them using the federal mediators. We're able to work with the parties to do some of this right now. But it's not the way it's been done. I want to try and slow it down to give the parties some time to catch their breath, sit down and talk about it before the attorneys get into a battle. We've been successful in a couple of cases so far.

A. It's sort of yes and no. It's a huge employer, but because we're quasi judicial, even though we fall under the Department of Labor, we're only under it for administrative and budgetary purposes. We don't answer to anyone so it's sort of like running your own business again. In that way it's not different, but at the same time you're a public employee and you have to abide by whatever rules that you're required to abide by. For myself, you're devoted full time to this position, which means you can't do any other work besides what you're doing here. I wanted this opportunity for quite some time and when it came up, this is what I wanted to do. It's another challenge and something to put some fire back into me again.

A. I've been in labor for a long time and I've seen what's happened. As an arbitrator, I've watched the parties and there are so many times that I felt that if only people would just sit down and have a meaningful discussion and try to work things out and try to find ways of resolving issues without having arbitrators decide things for them, I think the system would be better served. One of the things that we're responsible for here, and one of the things that I'm working on first, is to find qualified individuals to serve as arbitrators. So many of the arbitrators who are on the list now have no experience in collective bargaining negotiations, have never worked for unions, have no human resource background, and those are the kind of people that you need. You don't have to be an attorney to be an arbitrator. That's where I gained a lot of experience at the Hawai'i Employers Council where I did 30 to 40 negotiations on my own and sat in on a bunch more.

A. One of the things that I was surprised with was that, in reviewing annual reports and information concerning board activities in preparation for my interviews, in order to try and get this job, I found that over 40 percent of the board's decisions were overturned. That's bad. That's just not paying attention. You have to look at the courts. You can't just make decisions. You can't make decisions based on emotions. The perception of the public was that the board wasn't being fair. Something needed to be fixed. We have a really good board. Emory Springer is a former police officer on the Big Island. He was the Big Island SHOPO representative. He's just a breath of fresh air and he's all gung-ho to try to resolve disputes, bring the parties together and try to work things out. And I'm the same way. And then there's Sarah Hirakami who is just brilliant. We come up with ideas and she looks up the law and tells us whether we can do it or not or finds cases in support of our positions. We have a real nice balance.

A. The cases that I have problems with are cases that have been sitting around here without decisions being issued for over 10 years. Those are difficult. None of the board members was there at the time of the hearing and motions and whatever else happened. Now, if we were to rule in favor of the employers, in a lot of the cases there's a substantial amount of back pay and other issues that are involved that make it a real big mess. You want to be fair. What we're supposed to do is return it to the status quo, but how do you do that 10 years later?

A. Definitely. I like this place. The opportunity for me to make an impact on the state so far as labor relations is tremendous.

A. I'd like to see management and labor walking down King Street holding hands, but that's not going to happen. But to reduce the number of cases that have to go to arbitration; to encourage the parties to include in their collective bargaining agreements provisions for mediation; to reduce the number of unfair labor practices that are filed with the board. At the same time, that number may increase because of the effectiveness of the board as a place to go to resolve problems. So it sort of cuts both ways. You may have more unfair labor practices because whenever there is a problem they may want to say, "Let's go over there and take care of it. That way at least we'll get to talk." That's what I'm hoping.

And (another goal) is to educate people about relationships and trust and get the state and counties to rely upon the people that they hire to advise them on labor relation issues and union issues. Often times that doesn't happen. And encourage them to foster relationships with one another that are meaningful.

Judson ON THE RECORD - VERY IMPORTANT!! New Member, Sheldon, is Pres. of YAL @ Idaho State, seeking Utah YAL...& member Judson Witham has filed the Utah lawsuit against Obama!

To: ronpaul-16-announce@meetup.com, "Vaughn & Lynda Robison" <ronpaulslcutah@yahoo.com>

Cc: sam@audiocanyon.com, letters@news-jrnl.com, stewwebb@sierranv.net, stich@unfriendlyskies.com, bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com, blumberg@cyberport.net, Specialops@huffingtonpost.com, hwburgess@hawaii.rr.com, Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com, info@votevets.org, Hapa1234@aol.com, "MadMax@RoadWarriorRadio.com, Curt Crosby" <curtcrosby@gmail.com>, richardhayesphillips@yahoo.com, johnstadtmiller@hotmail.com, jack@cybrquest.com, stangfeedback@gmail.com, wmreditor@waynemadsenreport.com, jamesedwards@thepoliticalcesspool.org

BYU LAW LIBRARY after sending and receiving FAXES for me for YEARS, suspended my use of the FAX services et al AS Channel 5 Salt Lake called them asking about me ?? YUP BYU retaliated because ?????

My position is to UPHOLD the LAW to see to it that QUALIFIED CITIZENS are our representatives and IF NOT, well, you do the math. My filing speaks for itself....

NEW DISCOVERY (11-24-08): New Exhibit: “EQ 2048 - Deposition of Lokelani Lindsey taken on November 4 & 9, 1999". This document provides clear evidence that J. Douglas Ing had multiple conflicts-of-interest in this case and, since he was not a named Defendant in my RICO lawsuit against the former Trustees, he was not a legitimate signatory to the Settlement Agreement: Furthermore, since the Settlement Agreement was NOT SIGNED by any of the five Trustees actually named as Defendants, the Settlement Agreement was not legal or valid. (See Exhibit A)

NEW EXHIBIT (10-11-08): Additional facts regarding conflicts of interest between Steven Guttman and numerous parties related to this case:

NEW DISCOVERY (10-10-08): Additional facts regarding conflicts of interest between Steven Guttman, Robert Kessner, James Duca, AIG, Robin Campaniano, and others:

KESSNER DUCA UMEBAYASHI BAIN & MATSUNAGACentral Pacific Plaza, 19th Floor 220 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Insurance Defense, Automobile, General Liability, Professional Liability, Workers' Compensation

Partners
ROBERT C. KESSNER — 1949 — Colgate University, B.A., 1970; Boston University, J.D., 1973 — Admitted to Bar, 1973, Hawaii; 1973, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii — Member American and Hawaii State Bar Associations
JAMES N. DUCA — 1946 — Fordham University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1966; Harvard University, J.D., 1969 — Admitted to Bar, 1971, Hawaii; 1971, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1982, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member American and Hawaii State Bar Associations
CLYDE UMEBAYASHI — 1947 — University of Hawaii, B.B.A., 1969; J.D., 1980 — Admitted to Bar, 1980, Hawaii; 1980, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1980, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member Hawaii State Bar Association
ELTON JOHN BAIN — 1945 — California State University, Fullerton, B.A., 1967; University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 1972 — Admitted to Bar, 1972, California; 1979, Hawaii; 1972, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; 1979, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1980, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member State Bar of California, Hawaii State Bar Association
EMMA S. MATSUNAGA — 1954 — University of Washington, B.S., 1976; University of Hawaii, J.D., 1980 — Admitted to Bar, 1980, Hawaii; 1980, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1980, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member American and Hawaii State Bar Associations
MURIEL M. TAIRA — 1952 — University of Hawaii, B.A., 1974; University of Washington, J.D., 1981 — Admitted to Bar, 1982, Hawaii; 1982, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member American and Hawaii State Bar Associations

Associates
BEVERLY S.K. TOM — 1954 — University of Hawaii, B.Ed., 1977; University of Oregon, M.S., 1980; Vermont Law School, J.D., 1990 — Admitted to Bar, 1990, Hawaii; 1990, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii — Member American and Hawaii State Bar Associations
CORI ANN C. TAKAMIYA — 1968 — Santa Clara University, B.S., 1990; University of Hawaii, J.D., 1995 — Admitted to Bar, 1995, Hawaii; 1995, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii — Member Hawaii State Bar Association
KATHY K. HIGHAM — 1953 — University of Hawaii, B.A., 1975; M.A., 1976; J.D., 1984 — Admitted to Bar, 1984, Hawaii; 1984, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii — Member Hawaii State Bar Association
EWING MASON MARTIN III — 1971 — Abilene Christian University, B.A. (with honors), 1993; Texas Tech University, J.D., 1995 — Admitted to Bar, 1996, Texas; American Samoa; 1999, Hawaii; 1999, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii — Member American Samoa and Hawaii State Bar Association, State Bar of Texas
SYLVIA HIGASHI — 1946 — University of Hawaii at Manoa, B.A., 1967; M.Ed., 1968; University of Hawaii, J.D., 1999 — Admitted to Bar, 1999, Hawaii; 1999, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii — Member American and Hawaii State Bar Associations
STEVEN GUTTMAN — 1945 — California State College, B.A., 1967; University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 1973 — Admitted to Bar, 1973, Hawaii; 1977, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1977, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member Hawaii State Bar Association
NAOMI COLE — 1968 — University of Hawaii, B.A. (cum laude), 1992; Saint Louis University, J.D., 1997 — Admitted to Bar, 1997, Hawaii; 1997, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii; 1997, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit — Member Hawaii State Bar Association (Young Lawyers Division)
KAPONO F. H. KIAKONA — 1976 — University of Nevada, Las Vegas, B.A., 1998; Boston University School of Law, J.D., 2001 — Admitted to Bar, 2002, Hawaii; 2002, U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii

NEW DISCOVERY (09-19-08): “Prior Restraint” of free speech is unconstitutional and, in this case, was outside Judge David Ezra’s jurisdiction:

RE: CV05-00030 - David Farmer vs. Harmon - Exhibit: "The Freedom To Sing"
and Witnesses: Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales

To: "David Farmer" <farmerd001@hawaii.rr.com>, "Steven Guttman" <sguttman@kdubm.com>, "Carol K. Muranaka" <ustp.region15@usdoj.gov>

Cc: "Michael Mukasey <AskDOJ@usdoj.gov> ACLU Hawaii" <office@acluhawaii.org>, "All Representatives" <reps@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "All Senators" <sens@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "Andrew Walden" <hfpeditor@email.com>, "Andrew Winer" <winer@pacificlaw.com>, "Aon Insurance Managers" <mike_coulter@agl.aon.com>, "Arnold T. Phillips" <arnold.t.phillips@verizon.com>, "Arthur Rath" <imua@spamarrest.com>, "Barry M. Kurren" <richlyn_young@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Benjamin Kudo" <bkudo@imanakakudo.com>, "Blossom Tong" <blossom.d.tong@marsh.com>, "Bradley Tamm" <btamm@hawaii.rr.com>, "Carl Morton" <ethics@hawaiiethics.org>, "Charles Goodwin" <HONOLULU@FBI.GOV>, "Charles Hurd" <mcp@mediatehawaii.org>, "Colbert Matsumoto" <service@islandinsurance.com>, "Craig Watanabe" <captiveins@dcca.hawaii.gov>, "Dane Field" <danefl@gucl.com>, "Dave Shapiro" <volcanicash@gmail.com>, "David A. Ezra" <theresa_lam@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Dee Jay Mailer" <ksinfo@ksbe.edu>, "Dorothy Sellers" <hawaiiag@hawaii.gov>, "Exececutive Office for U.S. Trustees" <ustrustee.program@usdoj.gov>, "Hugh Jones" <hugh.r.jones@hawaii.gov>, "Insurance Division Fraud Branch" <insfraud@dcca.hawaii.gov>, "J C Shannon" <Hapa1234@aol.com>, "James B Nicholson" <jamesbnicholson@aol.com>, "James B. Farris" <Farrisj@adr.org>, "James Cribley" <jcribley@caselombardi.com>, "James Duca" <jduca@kdubm.com>, "James Paul" <jpaul@pjpn.com>, "James Wriston" <jwriston@awlaw.com>, "Jeffrey Sia" <Jeff.Sia@excite.com>, "Jeffrey Watanabe" <jwatanabe@wik.com>, "Jim Dooley" <jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com>, "Jo Ann Uchida" <rico@dcca.hawaii.gov>, "Joe Moore" <news@khon2.com>, "John D. Finnegan" <info@chubb.com>, "John Goemans" <wip@kamuela.com>, "Judge Lloyd King" <hib@hib.uscourts.gov>, "Judith Neustadter" <Judy@tiki.net>, "Judson Witham" <jurisnot2@yahoo.com>, "Ken Conklin" <ken_conklin@yahoo.com>, "Kenneth Hipp" <khipp@marrhipp.com>, "Kevin S.C. Chang" <shari_afuso@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Lawrence Reifurth" <dcca@dcca.hawaii.gov>, "Linda Lingle" <governor.lingle@hawaii.gov>, "Lyn Flanigan Anzai" <lflanigan@hsba.org>, "Margery Bronster" <info@bchlaw.net>, "Marsh Affinity Group" <prosecure@marshpm.com>, "Michael N. Tanoue" <mtanoue@paclawgroup.com>, "Michelle Tucker" <michelle@sterlingandtucker.com>, "Nathan Aipa" <nathan@pitluck.com>, "Office of Inspector General Civil Rights Complaints" <inspector.general@usdoj.gov>, "Office of the U.S. Trustee District of Hawaii" <ustp.region15@usdoj.goV>, "Paul Alston" <palston@ahfi.com>, "Peter Carlisle" <emeguro@co.honolulu.hi.us>, "Randall Roth" <rroth@hawaii.edu>, "Rick Daysog" <rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com>, "Robert Bruce Graham" <bgraham@awlaw.com>, "Robert F. Miller" <info@robertfmiller.com>, "Robin Campaniano" <aigh001@aighawaii.com>, "Roy F. Hughes" <hthughes@hawaii.rr.com>, "Samuel P. King" <leslie_sai@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Susan Tius" <STius@rmhawaii.com>, "V K Durham" <vkdtdht@pionet.net>, "Valerie U. Katz" <clmrpt@islandinsurance.com>, "William K Slate" <Websitemail@adr.org>, "Jim Terrack" <tnthawaii@aol.com>, "Don Michak" <dmichak@journalinquirer.com>, "Rocco Sansone" <rocco.c.sansone@marsh.com>, "Ted Pettit" <tpettit@caselombardi.com>, "Mark Burch" <burch@hawaii.edu>, "Laura Thielen" <dlnr@hawaii.gov>, "Michael Moore" <MMFlint@aol.com>, "John D Zalewski" <jzalewski@caselombardi.com>, "Robert M. Kohn" <rkohn@polhawaii.com>, "Haunani Apoliona" <info@oha.org>, "Malia Zimmerman" <Malia@hawaiireporter.com>, "CPCU Society Hawaii Chapter" <kkanehiro@gmail.com>, "Hawaii Independent Insurance Agents Assoc." <hiia@hawaii.rr.com>, "Hawaii Insurance Bureau Inc" <dpeters@hibinc.com>, "Hawaii Insurers Council" <apowershawaii@yahoo.com>, "Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press" <rcfp@rcfp.org>, "CND 48 Hours" <48Hours@CBSnews.com>, "American Bar Association" <dispute@abanet.org>, "Electronic Frontier Foundation" <information@eff.org>, "First Amendment Center" <info@fac.org>, "Council for the National Interest Foundation" <cnif@democracyinaction.org>, "Free to Know-Hawaii" <freetoknowhawaii@yahoo.com>, "ImpeachBush.org" <impeachbush@votetoimpeach.org>, "Wayne Madsen" <wmreditor@waynemadsenreport.com>, "National Whistleblower Center" <mc@whistleblowers.org>, "Editor New York Times" <managing-editor@nytimes.com>, "Greg Palast" <palast@gregpalast.com>, "Pension Benefit Guaranty Association" <participant.pro@pbgc.gov>, "Public Citizen" <publiccitizen@mail.democracyinaction.org>... more

Due to the discovery of NEW FACTS, I am updating the subject Exhibit and the witness information for U.S. Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, which you will find attached and on-line at:

As Judge David Ezra's Order constitutes a PRIOR RESTRAINT of my freedom of speech -- and that of all others who published their opinions in The Catbird Seat website, I regret that I must continue to submit each of these new and updated exhibits and witness descriptions for your review and approval in the event they may contain any prohibited "Protected Subject Matter". If you would like to avoid this approval process, then I would again suggest that we attempt a good-faith settlement of this case through confidential negotiation or mediation.

A prior restraint is an official restriction of speech prior to publication. Prior restraints are viewed by the U.S. Supreme Court as "the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights." Since 1931, the Court repeatedly has found that such attempts to censor the media are presumed unconstitutional.

In the 1976 landmark case Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, the Court addressed the constitutionality of an order prohibiting the media from publishing or broadcasting certain information about Erwin Charles Simants, who was accused of murdering the Henry Kellie family in a small town in Nebraska. This case pitted the First Amendment rights of a free press against the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.

To ensure that Simants received a fair trial, the Nebraska Supreme Court modified the district court's order to prohibit reporting of confessions or admissions made by Simants or facts "strongly implicative" of Simants.

On appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the prior restraint order. The Court emphasized that the use of prior restraint is an "immediate and irreversible sanction" that greatly restricts the First Amendment rights of the press. "If it can be said that a threat of criminal or civil sanctions after publication `chills' speech, prior restraint `freezes' it at least for the time," Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote for the Court.

To determine whether the prior restraint order was justified, the Court applied a form of the "clear and present danger" test, examining whether "the gravity of the `evil,' discounted by its improbability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger."

In applying this test, the Court articulated a three-part analytical framework, which imposed a heavy burden on the party seeking to restrain the press. First, the Court examined "the nature and extent of the pretrial news coverage." Second, the Court considered whether other less restrictive measures would have alleviated the effects of pretrial publicity. Finally, the Court considered the effectiveness of a restraining order in preventing the threatened danger.

The Court found that the trial judge reasonably concluded that the "intense and pervasive pretrial publicity" in the Simants case "might reasonably impair the defendant's right to a fair trial." However, the trial judge did not consider whether other measures short of a prior restraint order would protect the defendant's rights. The trial judge should have considered changing the location of the trial, postponing the trial, intensifying screening of prospective jurors, providing emphatic and clear instructions to jurors about judging the case only on the evidence presented in the courtroom or sequestering the jury.

The Court also found that the effectiveness of the trial judge's prior restraint order to protect Simants' right to a fair trial was questionable. Because the prior restraint order is limited to the court's territorial jurisdiction, it could not effectively restrain national publications as opposed to publications within the court's jurisdiction.

Moreover, it is difficult for trial judges to draft effective prior restraint orders when it is hard "to predict what information will in fact undermine the impartiality of jurors." Finally, because this trial took place in a town of 850 people, rumors traveling by word of mouth may be more damaging to the defendant's fair-trial rights than printed or broadcasted news accounts. In short, the probability that the defendant's fair-trial rights would be impaired by pretrial publicity was not shown with "the degree of certainty" needed to justify a prior restraint order.

Because the "barriers to prior restraint remain high and the presumption against its use continues intact," prior restraint orders are rarely upheld. As a result, editorial decisions about publication of information the government deems sensitive are generally left solely to the discretion of news organizations. Nevertheless, government officials and private individuals occasionally attempt to stop publication....

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
© 2003 RCFP. 1815 N. Fort Myer Dr., Suite 900, Arlington VA 22209 (703) 807-2100

The May 7, 1999 order regarding orders to show cause requires the former trustees immediately to resign offices and directorships in the trust’s subsidiary and affiliated organizations... P&C Insurance Company, Inc., is a captive insurance company, the sole stock holder which is Pauahi Holdings Inc.

The Attorney General respectfully invites the court’s attention to the annual report publicly filed on March 28, 2000 by P&C (Ex. 1). The annual report lists Henry H. Peters as a director. The Attorney General is unable to determine whether the listing is incorrect; or whether Peters remains a director in violation of court order. The Attorney General’s several inquiries of the trust concerning this matter remain unanswered despite the passage of three months (Ex. 2).

1. I am a deputy attorney general, and I am familiar with the case records and files in Hawaii First Circuit Court Equity No. 2048 going back to approximately August 1997.

2. I have personal knowledge of the facts contained in this declaration and am competent to testify to them.

3. Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of the annual report of P&C Insurance Company for the year ending Dec. 31, 1999, filed in late March 2000.

4, Exhibit 2 is a true and correct letter of my February 15, 2000 letter to counsel for the trust asking for verification that Henry Peters had resigned from P&C and the effective date of the resignation. I have never received a response to that letter.

Finally, we also requested some time ago copies of Henry Peters’ letters of resignation from directorships and ex officio positions, and specifically from P&C Insurance Company. Although the resignation letters of the other trustees were filed with the Court, Peters’ were not.

Ross Murakami first heard about the Arthur Andersen accounting scandal in November 2001 from an unexpected but reliable source: his mom. Mrs. Margie Kanemitsu called her accountant son from her home in Hilo, after watching a CNN broadcast.

“Ross, did you hear what happened to one of your clients, Enron?” she asked.

The younger Murakami was a partner at Arthur Andersen’s thriving 42-person Honolulu office. The large international accounting firm served as the financial auditor of Enron, a giant energy trading company based in Houston. That morning, Arthur Andersen had announced a restatement of an earlier audit of its client.

Mothers can be like that. Worry, worry, worry. But, then again, you know what they say about a mother knowing best.

Within days, through a seemingly never-ending series of news reports, Murakami, his staff and the rest of the country watched Enron implode, sucking its staff, subsidiaries and investors down an irresistible vortex. Curiously, one of the first down the financial and political black hole was the auditor, 88-year-old Arthur Andersen, not only its Houston office, but nearly everyone else, including the people in far-off Honolulu....

“It was emotional. It was exhausting,” says Murakami of his office’s sudden fall and eventual rise. “It was also extremely rewarding.”...

The year 2001 was promising to be a good one for Murakami. Hawaii’s economy was continuing its steady recovery from a decade-long slowdown, which meant a busy year for service businesses like accounting firms. In addition, in the fall, the then-37-year-old accountant made partner at Arthur Andersen. Having joined the company 14 years before, straight out of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Murakami was the first partner in the Honolulu office to have begun his career at the Honolulu office.

“Here I am a new partner, and, 10 days later, we are hit by one of the most tragic events in U.S. history, which, among other things, had a big impact on business in general,” says Murakami. “Then, two months after that, Enron. Kaboom!”...

Even though his once promising year was beginning to look nightmarish, when Murakami put down the phone after speaking with his mother on that November morning, he was confident that the scandal would pass. After all, every one of the big five accounting firms had had a questionable audit at one time or another in their histories. Some of them had even been sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission for their indiscretions. But they all had weathered their respective storms. It seemed highly unlikely to Murakami that the actions of a few people in his company’s Houston office could reverberate all the way to Honolulu.

Around the office, he reassured his staff: This, too, shall pass. Corporate was tight-lipped about the growing scandal, preferring to wait for the legal and political dust to settle. Murakami and Honolulu office managing partner Randy Karns met with their local public relations consultant, who advised that they do the same. People wouldn’t appreciate public protests or protestations of innocence, they were told. Especially if they were protesting their own innocence. It would be bad form, especially in Hawaii.

Corporate sent representatives to reassure the Honolulu staff that the accounting irregularities were part of an isolated situation in Houston. They pointed to the firm’s vast capital base. Again, there was nothing to be alarmed about.

However, in the first quarter of 2002, as news reports announced one legal development (and lost client) after another, tensions were running high in the office. To relieve the anxiety, Murakami and his staff scheduled visits to members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation and met with Gov. Ben Cayetano. The sessions were gut-wrenching and emotional. “How could this be happening to us?” “Why was Arthur Andersen being made a scapegoat?” they asked. “We haven’t done anything wrong,” they insisted.

“We knew they [Hawaii’s congressional delegation and the governor] wouldn’t be able to do much for us. How could they? It would be like stepping in front of a speeding truck,” says Murakami. “But we needed an outlet for all the anxiety, anger and emotion. We needed to vent.”

In Arthur Andersen’s 29th-floor office in the Pacific Guardian Life Center, the staff continued to vent with management’s full support and participation. Someone began writing encouraging messages with a Magic Marker on a Plexiglas wall off the reception area. People began writing words of support, inspirational quotes from leaders like Gandhi, or words of anger and defiance. They even had lighthearted activities in which they took out their frustrations on certain Department of Justice officials.

“You had this pride about working for Arthur Andersen and then there was this outrage that all this was going down and no one could do anything about it,” says Harvey Rackmil, chief financial officer for HONBLUE, who was the senior member of Arthur Andersen’s tax department from 1998 to 2002. “We were outraged at the government. We made ‘I am Arthur Andersen’ T-shirts for ourselves, and we went downstairs and took photos of each other. Arthur Andersen for the longest time didn’t fight back. They thought that we would get through it. Then the indictment was handed down and that was that.”

In the fall of 2001, Randy Karns was quietly planning a second career away from public accounting. The 50-something Karns, who had opened Arthur Andersen’s Honolulu office nearly 20 years before, had been offered an early retirement package from the corporate office—mandatory retirement, actually. That was fine, because he had recently been offered his dream job. Today, Karns won’t disclose what the dream position was, or with whom. He does say that it was with an organization for which he had a passion, and that the position was both prestigious and lucrative.

Karns, who had conducted audits of Hawaii companies since the late ’60s, had spent his entire career with Arthur Andersen, starting out in the firm’s Los Angeles office. He was extremely proud of his company and the quality of work it had done, so 2002, had promised to be not only a sweet beginning to a new career, but a sweet ending, as well. However, as the feeding frenzy around the accounting scandal grew, the senior partner knew that his work at Arthur Andersen wasn’t done. He asked his potential new employers if he could have a little more time to decide about the position. They agreed....

On March 14, 2002, a federal grand jury in Houston indicted Arthur Andersen on one count of obstructing a Department of Justice investigation by destroying documents. After the announcement, Karns and his management team kicked things into high gear, calling an office-wide meeting in which Karns laid all the options on the table, including his recent job offer. No one was going to abandon ship, he assured his staff.

Subsequent informational meetings, held in a common area, spilled out into the halls. The meetings were held every two weeks, then weekly. Sometimes there was an agenda, like when Karns outlined what had happened with Enron. Sometimes it was just to talk story.

“We had meetings whether we had something to say or not. You would be surprised. You always have something to talk about,” says Karns. “Our staff wanted to know if Ross and I had heard anything, and if we hadn’t, did that change our thinking, if that makes sense. Even knowing that there is nothing new can be comforting.”

“Randy was a great leader,” says Rackmil. “He was the guy delivering the message, fireside-chat style. You knew he was going to do everything in his power to help. He had been here a long time and had a lot of loyalty in the community. As long as the clients stayed, we would be OK.”

All along Karns offered his options analysis and assessment without interjecting a prejudgment one way or another. This was a decision for the employees, not him. He was still considering his dream job.

Then, one day, he accidentally walked in on a small group of staff who were working on a gift of gratitude to the senior partner. Karns realized that he already had his dream job.

“I came home and told my wife that we were going forward. That [other] job would have been a lot of fun to do. But it [his decision] really wasn’t about money or prestige,” says Karns. “They felt so strongly about the firm, its mission, its clients and its people. They were doing all of this on top of dealing with all the stress of getting their jobs done. I felt privileged to be a part of them.”

Of course, Murakami’s mother wasn’t the only one outside the firm who called him about Enron and the future of Arthur Andersen. “I started fielding calls from clients, who would say: ‘Eh, Ross, how come you didn’t let me do all those things?’ I told them that I didn’t know why they did that,” says Murakami. “I told them we don’t do that. That’s not how business is done. We had a very solid client base. They knew us, and they knew we had always been very honest and open with them.”

Early in the crisis, Murakami and Karns hit Bishop Street hard, meeting with as many of their clients as they could. Sometimes, as at the gatherings with their staff, the two partners had little new information to impart to their anxious clients. There were a lot of uncomfortable discussions, some in front of boards of directors. But every client was contacted and spoken to face to face if possible. After Andersen’s indictment in March, the meetings got more urgent, going from heart-felt reassurances to the beginnings of a plan for a new firm.

“We kept them [our clients] informed and we told them that we were trying to pull something off that would be a stand-alone entity,” says Murakami. “We said we couldn’t tell them right now if it was going to be successful or not. We couldn’t wait till we were solid to let them know. It wasn’t about us. It was about them.”

At first glance, the partners’ plan, which they would appropriately name “Project Phoenix,” seemed simple. They, along with Peter Hanashiro, who was slated to be named partner at Arthur Andersen before the crisis, would buy the firm from corporate. They would continue to provide the same good service that they always had, except the new firm would no longer audit large publicly traded companies. But the new firm would be free from a rigid corporate fee structure and nimble enough to respond to changes in the local marketplace....

Murakami made that August’s payroll, and has made every one since. But KMH has done more than just deliver paychecks on time. According to Murakami, the firm’s revenues have doubled since he switched off the lights on Arthur Andersen, with 20 percent growth for four years in a row. The staff has also doubled, growing from 42 to 85 in late 2006.

Throughout the ordeal, KMH lost only two or three tax clients and a handful of national and international clients, several of whom later rehired the firm in other capacities. KMH’s vision of a locally owned firm with a local focus along with national expertise has taken hold. Coincidently, it was also one that had been floating around in the heads of many experienced accountants in town.

“Even before Andersen imploded, we had discussed the possibility of creating a local firm with national ties. That is the way the market is moving,” says Wilcox Choy, partner at KMH and former partner at big four accounting firm, Grant Thornton. “But there just wasn’t enough critical mass to do that. Then Andersen went down and after talking with them, we realized we were on the same page.”

KMH started with three partners (Karns, Murakami and Hanashiro) and now has six. Alan Yee joined the firm from Grant Thornton’s Honolulu office in 2002 and Al Fernandez from Ernst and Young in 2003. Both run KMH’s tax practices. Alton Ohira, former head of KPMG Honolulu’s insurance and audit practice, came on board in 2003 and Wilcox Choy, once in charge of Thornton’s audit practice, also in 2003....

Aug. 15, 2001
Enron vice president for corporate development Sherron Watkins writes a seven-page letter to her boss, CEO Kenneth Lay, warning of accounting irregularities at the oil and natural gas trader. “The business world will consider the past successes as nothing but an elaborate accounting hoax,” she writes.

Nov. 8, 2001
Enron revises its financial statements for the previous five years. Instead of showing huge profits, the company now says that it actually lost $586 million.

March 15, 2002
Arthur Andersen is indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston on one count of obstruction of justice for shredding documents and deleting computer files regarding Enron.

March 26, 2002
Arthur Andersen CEO Joseph F. Berardino steps down amid an exodus of clients and overseas partners.

June 15, 2002
After a six-week trial, Arthur Andersen is convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying documents while on notice of a federal investigation.

May 31, 2005
The U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Arthur Andersen conviction. The justices unanimously agree that the Houston jury was given overly broad instructions by the federal judge presiding over the case. At issue is a memo from an Arthur Andersen in-house attorney detailing the company’s document retention policy.

Nov. 23, 2005
The Justice Department announces that it will not pursue the criminal case against Arthur Andersen in wake of the Supreme Court decision handed down earlier that year.

On Monday, Oct. 16, 2006, the day after Hawaii’s statewide earthquake, accounting firm Accuity LLP opened for business. Just days before, the firm had served as the Honolulu office of accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which had decided earlier that year to pull out of the Hawaii market.

“I got a call from a friend that first day, who said: ‘PWC pulls out and the earth shakes,’” says Kent Tsukamoto, the former PWC managing partner and now Accuity’s managing partner. “You might say that we started off with a bang.”

While the circumstances surrounding Accuity’s transition from international juggernaut to locally owned big business weren’t as catastrophic as Arthur Andersen’s end and KMH’s beginning, Tsukamoto and his partners, Wendell Lee and Dennis Tsuhako, were essentially dealing with the same issue: How do you sustain a business while building another business?

However, a larger, more earth-shaking issue probably extends far beyond Accuity, KMH and the rest of the Islands’ accounting industry: How important is Hawaii to businesses with a global, or national reach? The answer is: maybe not much anymore.

According to Accuity’s tax partner, Wendell Lee, PWC’s decision to leave Hawaii and pursue larger markets on the Mainland was initially shocking, but not surprising in the end. “PWC has more than 15,000 clients in the U.S. Only about 200 of them account for 80 percent of the company’s revenue. On average, that’s about $54 million to $100 million per client, per year,” says Lee. “That leaves the Hawaii market off the scale, because, at the very bottom of the food chain, they were looking for at least $1.5 million in revenue per client. At PWC, our largest Hawaii client provided about $1 million.”

With PWC’s exit and Arthur Andersen’s demise in 2002, Hawaii is home to three of the big-four accounting firms. Tsukamoto believes that number may shrink over the next several years.

“The size of a public accounting firm is a function of the size of the services rendered. Accounting follows the organizations,” says Warren Wee, associate professor of accounting at Hawaii Pacific University. “Just look at the corporations that were based in Hawaii 10 or 20 years ago. It’s not rocket science to see what’s happening, really basic economics.”

“Ten or 15 years ago, you saw a lot of mergers of the large, national firms, going from the big eight to the big five. Now, of course, after Andersen’s implosion, it’s down to four,” adds Wilcox Choy, partner at KMH and former partner at big-four accounting firm Grant Thornton. “Everything’s bigger and bigger businesses need bigger profits.”

In other words, follow the money, and while the big money is on the Mainland, there is still more than enough business to be found in the Islands. Accuity has retained a vast majority of its staff and about 95 percent of its revenue since leaving PWC. Tsukamoto expects about 5 percent growth in 2007.

Local ownership has a plethora of benefits. Now, Accuity is no longer saddled with post-Enron, corporate office-imposed procedures, which had very little relevance to Hawaii’s small-scale businesses. (According to Tsukamoto, about 60 percent of Accuity’s clients are family-owned businesses.) Also gone is the constant pressure from the head office to increase fees by 20 percent to 30 percent, rates more in line with those charged in New York and Los Angeles. In addition, when Tsukamoto needs to make a decision, he just walks down the hall to talk with his partners.

Some of the advantages of local ownership can’t be accounted for on a balance sheet: “PWC offered us [the partners] positions on the Mainland, where we would have done well,” says Lee. “But that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. We have 80 people who are our family, who in turn have families that they have to take care of. We couldn’t abandon them in the market like that. This is Hawaii. This is what you do. You take care.” — DKC

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA – Enron Development Corp. and Shell International Gas Ltd. announced today that the government of Bolivia has named the companies the successful capitalizing company for the transportation segment of the state oil and gas company, Yacimientos Petroliferos...

A lack of market access has constrained natural gas production in Bolivia. With little internal gas demand, all of the Company's Bolivian natural gas production is sold under contract to the Bolivian government for export to Argentina.

Major developments in South America indicate that new markets will open for the Company's production. Construction of a new 1,900-mile pipeline that will link Bolivia's extensive gas reserves with markets in Brazil commenced in 1997 and is expected to be operational in early 1999.

The owners of the new pipeline include Petrobras (the Brazilian state oil company), other Brazilian investors, Enron Corp., Shell International Gas Ltd., British Gas PLC, El Paso Energy Corp., BHP, and Bolivian pension funds. When completed, the new pipeline will have a capacity of approximately 1 billion cubic feet ("Bcf") per day.

NEW DISCOVERY (08-06-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest with Gregory Dunn; Hawaii Nature Center; Hawaii Dental Service; Faye Kurren; Judge Barry Kurren; Kamehameha Schools; Dee Jay Mailer; Don Carroll, etc:

Gregory D. Dunn was appointed executive director of the Hawaii Nature Center March 1, 2002. Dunn joins the Hawaii Nature Center after more than three years as executive director of the Atherton Branch of the YMCA of Honolulu. He brings to the Nature Center a strong track record in facility management, fund development, recruitment and project management. Previously he was operations manager for two new retail projects in Hawaii, the Barnes and Noble Superstores of Honolulu and NikeTown Honolulu. He is a member of the boards of Hawaii Dental Service, Inc., the Waikiki Community Center and Youth for Environmental Service. He is a trustee and chairman of the HDS Foundation. "Dunn's experience in the local community and his activities on behalf of youth in a non-profit arena made him a logical choice to lead the Hawaii Nature Center as it embarks on a plan to expand service," said Nature Center Board President, Don Carroll, also chairman of the board of Time-Warner Cable of Hawaii.

NEW DISCOVERY (08-04-08): UNDISCLOSED CONFLICTS-OF-INTEREST BETWEEN JUDGE KEVIN CHANG; JUDGE COLLEEN HIRAI; THE FORMER BISHOP ESTATE TRUSTEES (DEFENDANTS IN HARMON’S RICO LAWSUIT); THE COURT-APPOINTED MEDIATORS IN EQUITY 2048 (DAVID FAIRBANKS AND JAMES DUFFY); FEDERAL INSURANCE COMPANY; XL INSURANCE COMPANY; ATTORNEY GENERAL EARL ANZAI; DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL HUGH JONES, STEVEN GUTTMAN, AND OTHERS:

The terms: Dickie Wong's attorney says the agreement resolves pending action against the ex-trustees

The significance: A settlement of the suit would avoid a costly trial scheduled next month

The attorney general`s office has agreed to settle its multimillion dollar lawsuit against the five former trustees of the Kamehameha Schools, according to a lawyer for former trustee Richard "Dickie" Wong.

Another person familiar with the settlement talks said, however, that while there is an agreement in principle it may be some time before it is completed.

In a sworn affidavit filed in the Hawaii Supreme Court yesterday, Wong's lawyer Eric Seitz said he has been informed that the attorney general`s office reached a "global settlement" on Aug. 4 with ex-board members Wong, Henry Peters, Gerard Jervis, Oswald Stender and Lokelani Lindsey that resolves the pending probate, tax and civil litigation against the former trustees.

The plan, which requires approval from the state Probate Court, represents a major milestone in the three-year controversy that has dogged the $6 billion charitable trust. If approved, the deal would avert a costly, one-year trial that is scheduled to begin Sept. 18. Details of the proposed deal remain under seal but Seitz, who represents Wong in the criminal actions brought by the state, said some of the attorney general`s civil claims against the former trustees will be covered by the estate`s $25 million insurance policy with Federal Insurance Co.

It is not clear whether the former trustees will be personally liable for any of the surcharges sought by the attorney general`s office. Seitz added that the insurance company will not cover the outstanding legal bills for the criminal proceedings against his client and Peters, who were indicted by an Oahu grand jury on theft charges. The criminal theft charges have been overturned by Circuit Judge Michael Town, but the state is appealing those decisions. Seitz, who is owed about $20,000 in legal fees for his work in Wong's criminal case, criticized the proposed settlement, saying it uses the insurance company's resources to pay for the civil cases at the expense of the criminal cases involving former trustees Wong and Peters. Until now, the insurance policy had been covering Wong's and Peters' criminal defense costs.

"It's not only unfair but it's an outrage, because it takes away ... the criminal protection that he's entitled to," Seitz said.

Seitz' affidavit was in response to a request by the attorney general's office for records relating to Federal Insurance's payments for Wong's legal costs, a subject of the state's surcharge suit. Seitz argued that state attorneys shouldn't be entitled to the insurance records since they have settled the surcharge suit.

Deputy Attorney General Hugh Jones had no comment on Seitz' affidavit, saying the mediation process is subject to a confidentiality order. Glenn Sato, a lawyer representing Wong in the Probate Court proceedings, also declined comment on Seitz' filing, citing the court's confidentiality order.

An attorney for Stender also had no response, while lawyers for Peters and Jervis could not be reached.

Michael Green, Lindsey's lawyer, took issue with Seitz' affidavit, calling it irresponsible given the sensitivity of the settlement talks.

"The discussions at this point are fragile at best," Green said. "For any lawyer, including Mr. Seitz, to say this case is settled is irresponsible."

A spokesman for the estate said there is no settlement at this time. He declined further comment.

In its lawsuit, the state is seeking multimillion dollar surcharges against the former trustees for allegedly taking excessive compensation, mismanaging the trust's educational programs and incurring more than $200 million in investment losses.

The former trustees have denied wrongdoing, saying the trust is well-run and financially stable.

According to Seitz, the global settlement was reached by all of the parties, including Federal Insurance, during an Aug. 4 closed-door conference with Probate Judge Kevin Chang. Seitz said the plan was placed on the record, making it enforceable.

But others familiar with the talks said that while there may be tentative agreement, there are outstanding issues.

They noted that the attorney general's office and lawyers for the former trustees continue to hold discussions with the court-appointed mediators, David Fairbanks and James Duffy.

Minutes to the Aug. 4 meeting in Chang`s chambers are under a court-ordered seal.

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted long-term U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens Tuesday on seven counts of filing false financial disclosures, each a felony charge that carries a penalty of five years in prison and an unspecified fine.

With the indictment, Stevens, an icon in Alaska politics, becomes by far the most powerful politician charged in the broad, four-year federal investigation into public corruption in the state. To date, three state legislators, a high-level official in Gov. Frank Murkowski's administration, two businessmen and a lobbyist have been convicted, while two legislators are awaiting trial.

"I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that," he said in a prepared statement. "I have proudly served this nation and Alaska for over 50 years."

At a news conference in Washington to announce the indictment, Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal division, said Stevens would be allowed to turn himself in. Stevens' attorney, Brendan Sullivan of Washington, was notified of the indictment Tuesday morning shortly before it became public, Friedrich said.

The seven-count indictment charges Stevens with making false statements by failing to disclose "things of value" he received from Veco Corp., the now-defunct Alaska-based oil services and construction company, and from its chairman, Bill Allen, in a scheme that stretched over eight years.

At the same time, according to the indictment, Allen and other Veco employees asked Stevens to intervene on their behalf with the government, and Stevens sometimes obliged.

Stevens received substantial benefits from his relationship with Veco that he never disclosed, the indictment charged: improvements to his home in Girdwood; an automobile exchange in which he received a new Land Rover worth far more than his 35-year-old Mustang; and household appliances.

The federal Ethics in Government Act requires all senators to file financial disclosure statements detailing their transactions during the previous calendar year, including the disclosure of gifts above a specified value and all liabilities greater than $10,000.

At the news conference, Friedrich said the case involved false disclosures, not bribery, and no specific actions by Stevens in return for gifts were charged, even though the indictment mentioned some Veco requests and the favorable responses by Stevens and his staff.

Some of the solicitations were made directly to Stevens and included requests for help by Veco on its international projects in Pakistan and Russia; requests for federal grants and contracts, including National Science Foundation contracts worth nearly $200 million; and assistance with efforts to construct a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope.

The indictment comes just as Stevens is in the political fight of his life to win a seventh term. The fallout was immediate: Under Republican rules governing indicted senators, he had to step aside from two key committee positions he earned through longevity -- his co-chairmanship of the Commerce Committee, which oversees fishing and telecommunications, and his ranking position on the defense appropriations subcommittee, from which he has sent millions in earmarks to Alaska.

Even with his famed clout in Washington at least temporarily diminished, Stevens vowed to continue his campaign. His presumptive Democratic opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, wouldn't answer questions about Stevens' indictment.

Friedrich said the Justice Department followed its own rules in seeking an indictment when the evidence was complete and sufficient to bring charges. The political calendar wasn't considered, he said.

Allen, Veco's former chief executive, and Rick Smith, the company's former vice president of community affairs and government relations, pleaded guilty May 7, 2007, to providing more than $400,000 in corrupt payments to public officials from Alaska. Allen and Smith are cooperating and have been key witnesses in two trials so far.

Back then, there were no direct references in the Allen and Smith charges to gifts they provided to Stevens, though they admitted making corrupt payments of $243,250 over five years to Stevens' son Ben, once president of the Alaska Senate. Ben Stevens has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing.

The charges against Ted Stevens come almost exactly a year after an FBI and IRS raid on Stevens' home in Girdwood, the first time those agencies had ever raided the home of a sitting U.S. senator. At the time the agents documented the renovations made in 2000 that were overseen by Allen and managed by his employees and contractors. The renovations doubled the size of the home.

Stevens has refused to discuss the investigation, except to say he paid every bill he received connected to the renovation. He has refused to elaborate about whether that answer implied he knew of work on the house for which he wasn't billed.

The indictment said Stevens made "multiple false representations" to reporters, his friends and his staff about what he received from Veco and Allen. While it's no crime for an official to lie to the media, prosecutors charged that those statements were part of his long-term effort to conceal Veco's gifts and benefits.

From the summer of 2000 to about December 2001, Veco spent more than $200,000 on the Girdwood renovations, including materials, labor and architectural design, the indictment says. Much of that effort has already been the subject of extensive media coverage based on interviews with contractors, ex-Veco employees and Girdwood residents who witnessed the work.

For instance, Veco and Stevens hired a construction firm, identified only as "Construction Firm A" in the indictment, for the renovation project. The company matches the description of Christensen Builders of Anchorage, whose president, Augie Paone, told the Daily News in May 2007 that he was hired by Veco but sent invoices to Stevens and that Stevens paid by personal check from a new account.

The charges say Stevens never paid Veco anything for the materials or labor provided by Veco, its employees and contractors but clearly knew that Veco did a lot of the work.

Paone said he fully cooperated with the government. The indictment echoes his assertions in the interview, adding that Construction Firm A focused on carpentry and finish work, and Veco employees did much more.

In an e-mail to Allen Sept. 24, 2000, Stevens was full of praise for Veco and its employees, according to the indictment. "We've never worked with a man so easy to get along with as (unnamed Veco employee). Plus, everyone who's seen the place wants to know who has done the things he's done. ... You and (Person A) have been the spark plugs, and we are really pleased with all you have done. hope to see you and the chalet soon. best teds." The indictment goes much further than what was previously known and reveals that maintenance on the house extended into 2006. When something went awry, the charges say, Stevens asked Veco for help much as someone else might call a plumber.

The indictment has no reference to whether the government intercepted calls made to Stevens from any of Allen's or Smith's phones that were wiretapped under court order starting in 2005. Once Allen agreed to plead guilty, on Aug. 30, 2006, he placed several calls to public officials, including Stevens, in a sting effort. The content of those calls has not been disclosed.

The 1999 vehicle exchange cited in the indictment concerned a new car for Stevens' "dependent child," not naming the person. At the time, his only dependent child was daughter Lily.

Allen transferred a new 1999 Land Rover Discovery, which he had bought for $44,000, to Stevens. In exchange, Stevens gave Allen, a car collector with a love of Fords, a 1964 Mustang and $5,000. But the Mustang was worth less than $20,000, according to the indictment.

Lily Stevens, now 27, is the sole child of Stevens' marriage to his second wife, Catherine. Lily, a law clerk in Washington, is engaged to be married in late August. A call to her Washington office was not returned.

Stevens' first wife, Ann, was killed in the crash of a private jet in Anchorage in 1978 that injured Stevens. Ted and Ann Stevens had five children together, including Ben.

Stevens, 84, is the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. From 2003 to 2007, he was Senate president pro tem and third in line to the presidency. With political power that increased with his longevity, Stevens came to represent Alaska's clout in Congress. In January 2000, Stevens was named "Alaskan of the Century," and the Anchorage airport was renamed in his honor that July.

Alaska's other senator, Lisa Murkowski, expressed shock at the indictment in a prepared statement today.

"I know Ted Stevens to be an honorable, hard-working Alaskan who has served our state well for as long as we have been a state," she said. "As to the charges, we are at the beginning of the criminal process and there is a judicial procedure in place that will be followed."

Murkowski, a Republican, probably owes her election in 2004 to Stevens. She was trailing former Gov. Tony Knowles in the polls until the final weeks, when Stevens began blitzing the state with commercials saying he needed her beside him in Washington.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, Stevens' best friend in the Senate, said in a brief statement: "In our legal system, a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. ... As far as I am concerned, Ted Stevens remains my friend. I believe in him."

Stevens and Inouye are both World War II veterans and call each other "brother." When Stevens became chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in 2005, he named Inouye vice chairman rather than the usual term "ranking member" afforded the senior member of the opposite party.

Inouye returned the favor last year when Democrats took over the Senate and he became chairman.

NEW DISCOVERY (07-29-08): Undisclosed financial relationships between Senator Ted Stevens, Judge Barry Kurren, Faye Kurren, Tesoro, Halliburton, VECO Pacific, others...

KELLOGG BROWN & ROOT'S ROSE™ AND FCC TECHNOLOGIES SELECTED BY TESORO NORTHWEST FOR ANACORTES REFINERY UPGRADE

DALLAS, Texas - Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a business unit of Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), was recently selected to provide its state-of-the-art Residuum Oil Supercritical Extraction (ROSE™) and Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Technologies for a major upgrade at Tesoro Northwest Company's refinery in Anacortes, Washington. Tesoro Northwest Company is a subsidiary of Tesoro Petroleum Corporation. Part of an $80 million project, the upgrade will improve the ability of the refinery to run heavier, less expensive crudes while maintaining an almost equal production profile.

KBR's involvement in the multi-million dollar project includes a variety of undertakings. The company will add a grassroots 21,000 barrel-per-day ROSE unit to the refinery while incorporating KBR's advanced FCC technologies to the existing 42,000 barrel-per-day FCC. In addition to providing ROSE and FCC technology licenses, KBR also will perform basic engineering services, will supply associated proprietary equipment and will be responsible for a portion of the detailed engineering, procurement and construction activities in conjunction with engineering contractors Anvil Corporation and VECO Pacific, Inc.

"This win has provided Kellogg Brown & Root with several great opportunities - the ability to work with a growing refining and marketing company like Tesoro, to link our world class FCC and ROSE technologies, and to expand our current presence in the northwest," said Kellogg Brown & Root President Jack Stanley....

Headquartered in Houston, Kellogg Brown & Root is an international, technology-based engineering and construction company providing a full spectrum of industry-leading services to the hydrocarbon, chemical, energy, forest products, manufacturing, and mining and minerals industries.

Founded in 1919, Halliburton Company is the world's leading diversified energy services, engineering, energy equipment, construction and maintenance company. In 1999, Halliburton's consolidated revenues were $14.9 billion and it conducted business with a workforce of approximately 100,000 in more than 120 countries. The company's World Wide Web site can be accessed at http://www.halliburton.com .

Tesoro Petroleum Corporation is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products and provider of marine logistics services. Tesoro operates three refineries in the western U.S. with a combined capacity of 275,000 barrels per day. Tesoro's branded retail network is currently comprised of approximately 240 stations, of which 61 are company owned and operated.

Contact
Wendy Hagan
Halliburton Company
Public Relations
wendy.hagan@halliburton.com

Mr. Steven Guttman, Esq.
Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
220 South King Street, 19^th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813

RE: Notice of Claim - Steven Guttman, Esq., Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga

This is a follow-up to my Notice of Claim reported on December 12, 2003, and my follow-up dated June 19, 2004, against you and the law firm of Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, for racketeering, tax fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, breach of attorney-client privilege, conflicts of interests, obstruction of justice, and other wrongful acts. As I stated in those letters:

“As evidence attesting to the truthfulness of these allegations, I am providing you a copy of Bradley R. Tamm’s facsimile dated April 6, 2002, addressed to you, Matt Tsukazaki and Susan Tius. In this communication, Bradley Tamm attached a copy of my letter to Gregory T. Dunn dated March 30, 2002, and stated:

‘TRANSMITTED HEREWITH IS A COPY OF A LETTER RECENTLY RECEIVED FROM MR. HARMON. APPARENTLY, HE IS SENDING NEARLY IDENTICAL LETTERS TO ALL OF US.

‘I WOULD REQUEST THAT MR. TSUKAZAKI RELEASE TO ME A COPY OF ANY SIMILAR LETTERS SENT TO HIM, MS. TIUS, OR BISHOP ESTATES. I BELIEVE WE SHOULD ALL COOPERATE IN EXCHANGING SUCH INFORMATION FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT AND THE PRESERVATION OF OUR CARRIER’S INTERESTS.’

“I request that you promptly report this claim to your insurance carrier, and ask that their authorized Claims Adjuster contact me as soon as possible for further information.”

Since I still have not been contacted by your insurance carrier, it appears that I have no choice at this time but to present more details of my claim directly to you. In an attempt to keep this letter as succinct as possible, however, I will concentrate on just two individuals involved in this case: Lyn Flannigan Anzai and Louanne Kam.

Dr. Hamilton McCubbin, CEO
Kamehameha Schools
567 South King Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Thank you for the opportunity to meet with representatives of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP on this date. As I understand the major focus of your investigation to be the improper use of outside legal counsel, accounting firms and other third-parties, the following is a list of individuals and companies that, in my opinion, colluded to improperly transfer trust assets from the Kamehameha Schools and related companies:

Nathan Aipa, Louanne Kam, Lyn Anzai and Colleen Wong often directly engaged these firms to handle insurance claims without the required authorization of the insurance companies, including P&C.

Once the firms were engaged, these KSBE employees "controlled" and "managed" the claim directly with outside counsel, deliberately disregarding insurance company guidelines regarding the use and payment of these firms. Nathan Aipa, as principal executive of the Legal Group, had ultimate approval of all legal bills including P&C's.

Aipa would frequently pay these legal fees and costs from his General Counsel Account, without approval from the insurance companies. Often the amounts billed by the law firms exceeded allowable fees and costs provided in the insurance company guidelines. When, if ever, KSBE submitted the legal bills to the insurance company, many of the charges were disallowed. This practice led to the loss of millions of dollars that were never recovered from the insurance companies.

In the case of claims under P&C Insurance Company policies, Nathan Aipa, Louanne Kam or other KSBE attorneys directed that P&C pay the bills even though the outside firms flagrantly disregarded P&C's written guidelines.

These outside legal firms reported directly to in-house counsel, rather than to the insurance companies. In-house attorneys, including Aipa, often would not disclose critical information to the insurance carriers in these "sensitive" claims, resulting in further millions lost to the estate due to "non-cooperation".

This situation became particularly suspect and troublesome when these same KSBE employees handled claims in which they also had participated in the original financial transactions. They may have been potential witnesses-- even defendants-- in resultant lawsuits. These were extremely serious "conflict of interest" situations.

With P&C this became even more critical due to the obvious violation of "arms-length" principles, which potentially exposed the estate to unlimited losses beyond the actual insurance policy coverages and limits of liability.

During my years at KSBE, the following are just some cases in which KSBE and P&C funds were misused in the handling of insurance claims:

From all public accounts and from my personal experience, these imprudent practices have continued – unhindered and unabated – from the time of my departure until the present, under both the ex-trustees and the interim trustees.

After Lyn Anzai left Kamehameha Schools, she was employed as the General Counsel for Hawaiian Airlines. The following is taken from www.the-catbird-seat.net/Paradise.htm:

Mainland investors who want to open two casinos on O'ahu spent more money touting their agenda before lawmakers at the start of this legislative session than any other group, state Ethics Commission records show.

Marketing Resource Group, of Lansing, Mich., reported spending $108,679 on lobbying through January and February, the period covered by lobbyist expenditure reports due at the commission yesterday....

Hawaiian Airlines reported spending $8,300 on lobbying during January and February. Hawaiian, which sought to merge with rival Aloha Airlines, had reported spending more than $140,000 on lobbying during the previous period.

But Hawaiian later said it had mistakenly inflated that figure by including payments for work other than lobbying. In an amended report, Hawaiian said it really spent only $8,250 on lobbying during the May-December period.

The company had initially reported paying more than $83,000 to lobbyist Lyn Anzai, wife of state Attorney General Earl Anzai, whose office was investigating whether the merger would be legal.

The amended report reflects no lobbyist payments between May and December to Lyn Anzai, who is also Hawaiian's general counsel. The report for January and February said Anzai was paid $2,043 for lobbying during that period.

URSULA M.O. FREITAS, Claimant-Appellant v. HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC. and KEMPER INSURANCE COMPANIES, Employer/Insurance Carrier-Appellee

Clyde Umebayashi and James N. Duca (Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga), for employer/insurance carrier-appellee....

Besides the fact that Lyn Anzai was Hawaiian Airlines General Counsel, I also believe that Kamehameha Schools owned substantial stock in Hawaiian Airlines and/or Aloha Airlines.

Louanne Kam, as you know, was the ONLY WITNESS called by you at the Arbitration Hearing – with Matt Tsukazaki of Torkildson Katz acting as her attorney.

In the best interests of all parties concerned with the final settlement of the subject case, including Trustee Mary Lou Woo, I would urge you again to report this claim to your professional liability insurance carrier for handling.

Or, if you and your firm, and other concerned parties such as Kamehameha Schools; P&C Insurance Company; Torkildson Katz Fonseca Jaffe Moore & Heatherington; Marr Hipp Jones & Pepper; Susan Tius; Jeffrey Sia; Bradley Tamm; Mary Lou Woo, etc., would rather attempt to negotiate a global, out-of-court settlement of all these separate claims which can be found on the internet at www.the-catbird-seat.net/Claims-By-Harmon.htm (now located at www.kycbs.net/Claims-By-Harmon.htm), then I would be willing to consider this approach.

In the end, I believe this would be the fastest, least disruptive, and most cost-effective method of bringing this case to absolute, FINAL closure.

Robert S. Tameler, ALPS, Claims Administrator for Bradley Tamm and Greg Dunn
(via fax @ 406-728-7416)

NEW DISCOVERY (07-18-08): Undisclosed professional conflicts of interests with Defendant’s attorney, Bradley Tamm, and attorneys representing parties involved in Harmon’s RICO lawsuit and EQ2048; breach of confidentiality rules:

Current members of the Bankruptcy Mediation Panel are listed below. Applications for appointment to the panel will be accepted on a continuing basis.
Ryther L. Barbin, Esq. Louis L. C. Chang, Esq. Robert E. Chapman, Esq. Chuck C. Choi, Esq. Harrison P. Chung, Esq. Charles W. Crumpton, Esq. Nicholas C. Dreher, Esq. James N. Duca, Esq. Don Jeffrey Gelber, Esq. Steven Guttman, Esq. Owen H. Hellekson, Jr., Esq.	Simon Klevansky, Esq. Ronald K. Kotoshirodo, Esq. Colin K. Kurata, Esq. Remy Luria, Esq. Alan J. Ma, Esq. Michael F. Nauyokas, Esq. William J. Plum, Esq. Bradley Tamm, Esq. Susan Tius, Esq. James A. Wagner, Esq. Thomas J. Wong, Esq.
LBR 9019-2. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (a) Purpose and Scope. To facilitate the voluntary resolution of adversary proceedings and contested matters, the Bankruptcy Court is authorized to establish guidelines for court-sponsored Bankruptcy Alternative Dispute Resolution (“BDR”) procedures. This rule does not preclude parties from participating in the alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) procedures implemented under LR 16.11 or in any other ADR process. (b) Program Administration. (1) Bankruptcy Mediation Committee. The court may establish a Bankruptcy Mediation Committee to formulate guidelines for BDR procedures and the selection, training and evaluation of individuals to serve on a Mediator Panel. (2) BDR Administrator. The court may appoint a BDR Administrator to administer the BDR program and to serve as liaison between the court and the Bankruptcy Mediation Committee. (3) Bankruptcy Mediator Panel. The BDR Administrator shall publish and maintain a list of qualified individuals approved by the court to serve as members of a Bankruptcy Mediator Panel. Individuals selected to serve on the panel may be required to provide a minimum amount of service without compensation. (c) Confidentiality. (1) Except as otherwise provided by this rule or applicable law, any and all communications made in connection with any mediation under this rule shall be subject to Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. (2) Mediators and parties shall not communicate with the court about the substance of any position, offer or other matter in the mediation without the consent of all parties, unless such disclosure is required to enforce a settlement agreement or to provide evidence in an attorney disciplinary proceeding, but only to the extent required to accomplish that purpose. (d) Immunity of Mediators. All persons serving as mediators under this rule shall be deemed to be performing quasi-judicial functions and shall be entitled to all of the privileges, immunities and protections that the applicable law accords to persons serving in such capacity.
12/19/2002

03/30/02

Letter from Harmon to Bradley Tamm re Ch 7 Case 99-04339

www.kycbs.net/Claim-Tamm-3-30-2.htm

www.kycbs.net/Claims-Branch-Dunn-Tamm.htm

04/06/02

Fax from Harmon’s attorney, Bradley Tamm, to Steven Guttman, Matt Tsukazaki, and Susan Tius requesting that these parties “SHOULD ALL COOPERATE IN EXCHANGING SUCH INFORMATION FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT AND THE PRESERVATION OF OUR CARRIER’S INTERESTS.” This is indisputable evidence of violation of attorney-client privilege and conspiracy to commit fraud.

www.kycbs.net/Claim-Tamm-4-6-2.pdf

Few people in Hawai'i have ever heard of Cerberus Capital Management LP, yet in the past year, the New York-based hedge fund has become a top hotel owner in the state and major lender to the state's No. 2 airline.

Cerberus took control of Waikiki's crown jewels — the Sheraton Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian and the Sheraton Moana Surfrider — when it bought a 65 percent interest in the hotels' owner, Japan-based Kokusai Kogyo KK, for $2.4 billion in November 2004.

"These properties are worth billions of dollars, making them (Cerberus) one of the biggest hotel owners in Hawai'i," said Mike Hamasu, director of consulting and research at Colliers Monroe Friedlander Inc.

The company also played a pivotal role in Aloha Airlines' reorganization. In March, Ableco Finance LLC, Cerberus' lending arm, teamed up with Goldman Sachs Credit Partners LP to provide up to $65 million in financing to help the bankrupt carrier continue operating.

The rapid rise of Cerberus on the Hawai'i business landscape comes amid a resurgence of investment from Mainland companies.

New York-based Cendant Corp., which in addition to running Avis, Budget, Century 21 and Cheap Tickets, bought the local Coldwell Banker residential real-estate franchise last month.

HRPT Properties Trust, based in Newton, Mass., which paid nearly $600 million to acquire more than 400 acres of industrial properties owned by the Damon Estate and the Campbell Estate.

While much of the outside investment in Hawai'i in the 1990s involved businesses that bought cheap, added improvements and sold three to five years later, today's investor is taking a more hands-on management approach and may end up waiting a decade before they see a big payoff.

"They're much more patient, and they're much more willing to take much more complex risk," said Jon Miho, co-founder of local real-estate investor Trinity Investment LLC, whose affiliate is purchasing the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii hotel.

Cerberus, a major global player with over $16 billion invested worldwide, declined to comment on its Hawai'i strategy for this story. Local executives who have dealt with the company say its record in the state is mixed.

Managers of the Sheraton chain say that Cerberus is committed to improving its Hawai'i properties, while representatives of Aloha Airlines paint a picture of a demanding lender keeping a close eye on all operations.

Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of Hawai'i operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which manages the five Sheraton hotels controlled by Cerberus, said Starwood had preliminary discussions with Cerberus about renovating its local properties.

He noted that Kamehameha Schools' $84 million facelift of the nearby Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center has prompted Starwood and Cerberus to consider upgrading the properties.

"We think they're going to be a good owner of our hotels in Hawai'i," Vieira said.

David McNeil, a spokesman for Prince Hotels, said the chain's Japan-based owners haven't planned any changes at this time.

Unlike the mid-1990s "vulture" investors like Colony Capital and the Blackstone Group that bought distressed Hawai'i real estate for as little as 25 cents on the dollar, Cerberus is paying nearly the full value of the properties.

"They're not buying on a huge discounted basis; they're buying on value," said Joseph Toy, president of the local consulting firm Hospitality Advisors LLC.

In July, Ableco, Cerberus' lending arm, abruptly increased the interest rate on its multimillion-dollar loan to Aloha from 11.25 percent to 14.25 percent, Aloha said in Bankruptcy Court documents.

The following month, Ableco stopped lending money to Aloha until management agreed to hire a chief restructuring officer and reach an agreement to sell the airline. Aloha attorney Charles Dyke stated during a Bankruptcy Court hearing in October that Ableco and Goldman Sachs would consider liquidating Aloha if a deal to sell it fell through.

Aloha, which is being sold to a group headed by California billionaire Ron Burkle and former football star Willie Gault, won approval from Bankruptcy Court last week for its reorganization plan. Aloha could emerge from bankruptcy as soon as Dec. 15.

In a recent Bankruptcy Court filing, Jeffrey Kessler, Aloha's interim chief financial officer, described the pressure Cerberus put on the airline.

"For several days, funds were withheld as the lenders made daily sweeps of cash revenues from (Aloha's) accounts while refusing to re-advance the monies so swept," Kessler said.

"The lenders began demanding, as a condition to each daily advance under the loan, a daily 'deal report' detailing the company's progress in obtaining a transaction sufficient to repay the loan," Kessler added. "They further informed the company that financing would be cut off by Oct. 15, 2005, if a signed letter of intent from an investor were not secured by then."

Cerberus has been involved in a controversy in Japan over its planned investment in the parent of the Prince Hotels.

Cerberus' investment in financially troubled Seibu, one of Japan's largest real-estate firms and owner of the Seibu Railway, has led to legal action by the sons of the company's founder, Yasujiro Tsutsumi.

The brothers, Yuji and Seiji Tsutsumi, recently lost an appeal to Tokyo's high court to essentially block Cerberus' investment and Seibu's restructuring plan. The two brothers recently filed suit in Hawai'i Circuit Court, seeking to be recognized as the rightful owners of the Prince Hotels in Hawai'i.

Founded in 1992 by Stephen Feinberg, a former Drexel Burnham Lambert manager, Cerberus began as a vulture fund specializing in bankrupt and distressed companies. The name, Cerberus, comes from the mythical three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the ancient Greek underworld.

In recent years, the company, whose executives include former Vice President Dan Quayle, has branched out to lending and investing in less-risky companies, says the Wall Street Journal.

The closely held company shies away from publicity, preferring to work in the background. It has no local office or employees based in Hawai'i.

The firm has invested in a broad range of companies, including Mervyn's department stores, building products maker Formica Corp., Italian sportswear maker Fila and DaimlerChrysler's former aircraft leasing business, according to BusinessWeek.

In more recent years, the firm has taken huge bets in troubled companies in Japan, where restrictions on foreign ownership have relaxed in recent years.

Before its investment in Kokusai Kogyo, the company paid $850 million for a controlling stake in Aozora Bank Ltd., formerly known as Nippon Credit Bank Ltd. before it was taken over by Japanese regulators in 1998.

Kevin Aucello, senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis Hawaii who worked with Cerberus Japan executives in the mid-1990s, said that Cerberus' combined ownership stake in the local Sheraton and Prince hotels has advantages.

Owning several high-end hotels in Hawai'i means Cerberus can leverage the advertising, marketing and managing efforts. "It's much more efficient to manage a larger portfolio," Aucello said.

Check out James B. Nicholson, Trustee vs. Harmon - Witness Judge Susan Oki Mollway

FYI: Susan Oki, Echi Oki, Dan Mollway, Airline Industry, SEC, and the Broken Trust Asian Pacific Bamboo Legacy in collusion with AIPAC Political influence in the powerful influential Defense Appropriation Committee members {Ted Stevens and Duke Cunningham} under Hawaii U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye's leadership...... and the stealth Political, Economic, and Socialized intents for the pending AKAKA BILL in Congress, documented, again, under "A Confederacy of Dunces" {Forbes}.

Hey CB....this one is the ultimate "insiders" in Hawaii regulatory Government for the Broken Trust cabals linked to the Hawaii Legislature members including their own Federal Reps in Washington protecting their Hawaiian Hui "inside" investors from Southeast Asia to Wall Street:

I talked with the State Ethic's Commissioner / Director, Dan Mollway....Ms. Susan Oki's husband... about the BIG conflicts of interests involving our case against the State DLNR, The Ombudsman Office Director, The DCCA Rico "Investigations" with huge Political cover-ups involving the ANZAI's and the Hawaii Judicial system protecting their own regulatory local hui investors linked to the Bishop Estate Trustees.

Dan Mollway was involved with the "separate" Investigations involving the DLNR Bureau of Conveyance Public land records being ILLEGALLY manipulated and tampered for "Controlled Business" practices by the private sector {Title Guarantee Company employees with Realtors linked to Hoiku Consultant private computers being placed strategically in Public Office Government Buildings linked to the Hawaii Legislature members and the KSBE investments under Headmaster Colbert Matsumoto}.

He claimed that the State Ethics Department was still in the process of their own "separate" investigations {with vague public follow-ups since last year} while the State of Hawaii Attorney General's office conducted their own internal "investigations" in conjunction with a Third Investigations by the Hawaii Legislature members with their Union supported employees!

This again, is the same as a California PYRO MANIAC investigating his own blazing Wild Fire, while creating numerous distracted small fires around the BIG MAIN BON-FIRE, to attention away from his malicious and well calculated deeds!

The gas can {State of Hawaii DLNR Public Forgery Document Executive Order 3117 with a false Public misleading Official GAO Survey Map} with the match {The original suppressed DLNR Legal Access documents} and the remaining evidence with charred ruins {The Hawaiian Airline Pilot's family Bankruptcy proceedings implicating the KSBE and U.S. Trustees mishandling and suppressing the FRAUD} is all their for the "Investigators" conducted by the same Hawaii Buzzards and Vultures linked to the BROKEN TRUST Hawaii Legislature members, again, conducting their own Public Relation separate "investigations" for their Union memberships obtaining bribery gifts and favors {Oriental customs?}; The Hawaii State Ethics Director, linked to the Bamboo network Hawaii Judiciary system Huis with their own separate Public Relation damage control "investigations" to nowhere under the Hawaii AG's Office....promoting a Sovereign Hawaiian Bill, based on Illegal Political Constructive Fraud in Washington {1993 Simple Federal Apology Resolution to Hawaii by Senators Daniel Inouye and Akaka} while ignoring blatant Public Fraud and Political Corruption with OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE with HUGE CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS for: "SOCIAL EQUALITY AND POLITICAL JUSTICE FOR ALL" in Washington......

DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS while Congress protects their own vested interests under the Political Department of Injustice cabals while helping spread American Democracy and American Values in the controversial Middle East and around the World!

Some interesting bit of side notes involving Ms. Susan Oki and her father....a former member of the famed 442 U.S. Military Regiment: My father, a former World War 11 Combat photographer in the South Pacific theatre, was married to a local Japanese during the War. He was a distant Political acquaintance and supporter for Jack Burns in Kailua, Oahu. They both belonged to the Kailua Lions Club and were both members of the private Lanikai Mid-Pacific Country Club....mostly all haole members after the War years.

My father was involved in a very fraudulent Hawaii land purchase and sale during the 1950s involving a corrupt Hawaii land surveyor and a fellow Irishman linked to the Hawaii Judges family members. After he relocated to San Francisco in the early 1960s, he retained a Hawaii attorney whom I believe was none other than Echi Oki.....from Honolulu, linked to the famed 442 Hawaii Military Brigade members whom he always supported due to the persecution of the local Hawaii Japanese community after Pearl Harbor.

Echi Oki, again, had close political links vis-a-vis their Military Service to Dan Inouye and their tight knit Hawaii 442 hui cabals.....prior and after the 1954 Hawaii Legislature Revolution. My father lost the Court case, despite the SELLER testifying in favor of my fathers allegations...... with huge conflicts of interests since the Judge was related to the Hawaii Judge {Taveras}.

Another side Note with the Airline Industry: I was personally involved with the earlier Bankruptcy proceedings with Frontier Airlines in Denver {1986} which later involved Drexel Burnham Wall Street investors linked to Frank Lorenzo and Carl Ichan in New York. Like Mr. Rodney Stich, the FAA investigator making allegations against United Airlines in Denver, I was singled out with several others for exposing blatant FAA rules and blatant Public Safety violations involving massive fraud and corruption benefiting short-cutting - Airline cost saving procedures...comprising massive Public Safety cover-ups and FAA regulatory with damage control omitted issues involving the new non-unionized, young and ignorant work force.

This all began with the across the board firings for the FAA Air Traffic Controllers soon after the Reagan - Bush Sr Tenure came into Office in 1981. The massive Airline De-regulations in Washington vis-a-vis Wall Stree profiteers, {i.e. - Michael Milken, Marc Rich, Ivan Boesky} during the roaring unregulated 1980s which became famous with the Movies: WALL STREET {Michael Douglas} and "BARBARIANS AT THE GATE".

AIPAC'S Norman Brownstein, based in Downtown Denver, vis-a-vis my former Brownstein political mole "girlfriend" , New York attorney Lisa Holstein, was responsible for helping Lorenzo with the Texas Continental Airline gang members to get out of their Prime gate and exclusive lounge commitments, including a faulty Automated Baggage system, involving more massive fraud and cover-ups at the new Denver International Airport were allowed to quietly relocate back to their Houston based "Texas Air Corp" headquarters.

In 1993, Clinton denied Frank Lorenzo, with his New York Attorney wife with Chase Manhattan Bank, as well as their Texas Air Corps - Colorado Resort land investors in Aspen & Vail {Phillip Winn Group}, to continue manipulating the SEC within the confines of the "insiders" under the lucrative "De-Regulated Airline Industry" mergers using Union Pension plans for lucrative leveraged acquisitions....compromising Public Safety and FAA violations with massive cover-ups in Washington.

Again, like former FAA investigator, Rodney Stich, doing his job, I became another Politcial liability, which is the former "inside" Dept of Justice / CIA lawyer, Norman Phillip Brownstein's expertise specialized job as Mr. Fix It at DIA; Protecting SEC Billionaire Fugitive's such as Marc Rich and HUD Director Phil Winn, while sheltering Drug Traffic cabals with Florida's Jack Devoe...for helping AIPAC's Political "cause" in Washington DC into vested SECURITY interests in the secular Middle East.....of course....always using OPM: The defrauded & obliviouos American Public Tax Payers left holding the bag on Wall Street to Main Street.

Brownstein's young, former single AIPAC New York mole attorney, Ms. Lisa Holstein, like others linked to AIPAC and David Steiner, as well as former CIA - U.S. federal prosecutor - Hawaii Public Safety Director, John Peyton, are reported deceased in New York and remote Africa?

The Rocky Mountain High - SILVERADO DNC Political Convention in Denver, Colorado, moving the Public cost over-run to a larger media exposure event with INVESCO Stadium {Bronco Pro Football Stadium...who are clients of NORM BROWNSTEIN, JACK HYATT, AND STEVE FARBER, now joined by former GOP Denver University CABALS - former Colorado RNC Chairman, Commercial Real Estate Investor and Resigned Department of Veterans Affair Director - James "De Oppressor Libre" Nicholson, linked to former Colorado RNC Chair, for convicted Swiss Ambassador - HUD Director - Phil Winn {DU Professor} with former DU Secretary of Interior Gale {CREA} Norton, as well as the latest new GOP University of Colorado connections to former U.S. Senator / UC President Hank Brown....involved in the "E Pluribus Unum" Wall Street article related to: THE 1993 Simple FEDERAL APOLOGY RESOLUTION TO HAWAII under Clinton with Political Constructive FRAUD and Public cover-up intents for the future Public subsidized AKAKA BILL in Congress....pending in Washington since 2000, after the U.S. Supreme Court decision over ruling the Hawaii Political Judicial system hidden under the Political Ninth District Circuit Court of Appeals, involving 'RICE V. CAYETANO' {Office of Hawaiian Affairs}.

NEW DISCOVERY (05-10-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC and “Bush’s Brain”, Karl Rove:

Subject: Check out The Raw Story | Official probing Rove now under investigation himself

To: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov, senator@akaka.senate.gov, ustrustee.program@usdoj.gov, admin@ehawaii.gov, jurisnot@yahoo.com, bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com, hwburgess@hawaii.rr.com, Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com, rroth@hawaii.edu}

"While Rove Fiddled; The Bush was Burning"? or........White men who can't dance?

a} Congressional Defense Appropriation Committee members, previous Bureau of Indian Affair Chairman, Veterans Affair Committees, Intelligence Committees, Special Counsels {Iran - Contra / Central America International Committees} Bishop, Baldwin, REWALD, Dillingham & Wong, for Hawaii U.S. Senator - Daniel Inouye - Defense Chairman linked to: hidden Public Pork Barrel proceeds for the lavish Hokulia Canoe for Hawaiians only programs / Women Abuse Shelters for Two Political Hawaii Legislature members involved in 1992 U.S. Senate race allegations for Sexual Harassment allegations / Private Defense Contractor Brent Wilkes - Hawaii ADSC Company fronts - Lavish Hawaiian Private Vacations - Luxury Private Accommodations - Hawaiian "Entertainment" linked to Asian Pacific Advisory Council Politicians {Prince Hotels} - AIPAC Lobbyist for Akaka Bill; {Dismissed U.S. Attorney - Frederick Black, Political Appointee under former CIA Director / Vice-President / President George H. Bush linked to former U.S. Federal Prosecutors John Peyton - Kenneth Starr in collusion with former Hawaii District Judges {deceased}: Martin Pence, Harold Fong, & California District Judge: Brian Tamahana}.

b} Alaska U.S. Senator - Ted Stevens linked to hidden Public Pork Barrel projects {Bridge To Nowhere} with family member to self serving Alaska Contractors - Home remodeling projects as well as lobbying ANWAR Bill under the Department of Interior {CREA} with members with the Defense Appropriation Committee Political links to members of Congressional Committees {I.E. - Veterans Committee Chairman - Daniel Akaka, sponsor for the stealth Akaka Bill with no Public voice or vote in Hawaii, Obstruction of Justice in the South Pacific {Jack Abramoff - Tom Delay} and the Broken Trust legacy in Hawaii, in political exchanges for continued political support for a Case of War in Iraq and the ANWAR Bill.

c} California Congressman - Duke "Dukestar" Cunningham: Defense Appropriation Committee member - Veterans Affair Committees linked to lavish Political briberies with Private Defense Contractors and CIA agents linked to Iraq War Appropriations in Washington DC, Southern California, and Hawaii lavish vacations - "Entertainment" with obstruction of justice linked to political Dismissed U.S. Attorney Carole Lam, linked to Political dismissed U.S. Attorney Frederick Black in the South Pacific involving Jack Abramoff {AIPAC} linked to Grover Norquist and Tom Delay {CNP - PNAC}.

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2001
MILILANI MAUKA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAFETERIA

CALL TO ORDER: Chair Jeanette Nekota called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m., with a quorum present.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Lily Canas, Tim Dittrick, Melissa Graffigna, Wade Kodama, Teresa Lau, Jeanette Nekota and Pamela Young.

REPRESENTATIVE GUY ONTAI: Representative Ontai reported the following: (1) In the Third Special Session of the 2001 Legislature, legislation relating to residential and hotel tax credits passed, however bills relating to commercial tax credits were not even considered. (2) The Republican Caucus proposes a seven-day tax holiday _ customers pay no excise tax on purchases _ is needed to stimulate the economy. He noted that in these hard economic times, many of these small businesses have folded. (3) Voted against the $150 million for the relocation of the John A. Burns Medical School because he feels monies being diverted from the tobacco settlement fund along with the use of eminent domain is wrong. (4) $17.5 million will be allocated for construction of Mililani Mauka Elementary School II in two phases. (5) Expressed concern with the use of funds from the State Foundation of Culture & the Arts' Special Funds used to purchase statues should be used instead to fix and repair public schools like Mililani Uka Elementary that is having a problem with land erosion. Ontai stated his agreement with State Auditor Marion Higa that the Culture & Arts Special Fund be eliminated.

(1) Graffigna expressed strong disagreement with Representative Ontai to eliminate the Culture & Arts Special Funds by pointing out that arts education is beneficial to students. She therefore asked Representative Ontai to look into it.

(2) Chair Nekota informed everyone that the Mililani Complex has until Monday, December 10, 2001 to fully comply with the Felix Consent Decree granting equal education to special needs children.

David C. Farmer, Esq.
Office of the United States Trustee
c/o Steven Guttman, Esq., Kessner Duca Umebayashi, et al.
220 S. King Street, Floor 10
Honolulu, HI 96813

Re: Notice of Professional Liability Claims Against:
David C. Farmer, James B. Nicholson and Steven Guttman

As I have not received a response from you, or from your professional liability insurance carriers, this is a follow-up to my letter dated February 26, 2008, in which I stated:

“This is a new Notice of Professional Liability Claims against Trustees David C. Farmer and James B. Nicholson and their attorney, Steven Guttman, Esq., of the law firm of Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, for racketeering, insurance claims fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, tax fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, bad faith, violation of anti-SLAPP statutes, violation of First Amendment Rights, errors, omissions and other wrongful acts, in connection with Chapter 7 Case No. 99-04339 FJR, and CV05-00030 - David C. Farmer vs. Bobby N. Harmon.

“You will find additional information regarding this Notice of Professional Liability Claim at the following web sites:

“I would also point out that Hawaii has a Mandatory Reporting requirement for suspected claims fraud, and immunity provisions which grant individuals immunity from prosecution relative to good faith reporting of suspected insurance fraud information. Also, please be advised that I have submitted a fraud report on February 26, 2008, to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC Fraud ID: 9019048316) with an estimated amount of loss of $1,000,000.

“I respectfully ask that you have your Professional Liability insurance carrier(s), which you have repeatedly refused to identify, contact me immediately for further information.”

Therefore, I, again, respectfully request an immediate, good-faith response to this valid Notice of Claim, from either you or your insurance carrier(s) .

Lawrence Reifurth, Director, Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs
VIA Fax: (808) 586-2670

NEW DISCOVERY (06-26-08): More undisclosed relationships: Steven Guttman was the attorney for South Seas Motors, Inc. and Pacific International Services, Inc., in which Nick S. Cutter has ownership and management interests, along with J. George Hetherington, Esq., of Torkildson Katz Fonseca Moore & Hetherington. The accountant for Pacific International Services was PricewaterhouseCoopers. Some commercial sites for their auto dealerships and Dollar Rent-A-Car operations were leased from Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate. Nick Cutter is the uncle of Linda Lingle. David C. Farmer has done TV commercials for the Cutter automobile dealerships. Nick Cutter is a member of the Hawaii Business Roundtable whose members include Robin Campaniano, AIG Hawaii; Faye Kurren; Constance Lau; Dee Jay Mailer; Jeff Watanabe; David Carey; David Cole; David Banmiller, former CEO of Aloha Airlines, Inc., for which David Farmer is an attorney, etc.:

To: "Bobby Harmon" <bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com>, "David Farmer" <farmerd001@hawaii.rr.com>, "Michael Mukasey" <AskDOJ@usdoj.gov>, "Kevin Chang" <sa@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Robert Faris" <hib@hib.uscourts.gov>, "Barry M. Kurren" <richlyn_young@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Carol K. Muranaka" <ustp.region15@usdoj.gov>, "J P Schmidt" <insurance@dcca.hawaii.gov>, "Janet Kamerman" <HONOLULU@FBI.GOV>, "Mark Bennett" <hawaiiag@hawaii.gov>, "Hugh Jones" <hugh.r.jones@hawaii.gov>, "Linda Lingle" <governor.lingle@hawaii.gov>

"Mediation Center of The Pacific" <mcp@mediatehawaii.org>, "Sheryl Nicholson" <office@acluhawaii.org>, "Robert Bruce Graham" <bgraham@awlaw.com>, "James Wriston" <jwriston@awlaw.com>, "Andrew Winer" <winer@pacificlaw.com>, "James Cribley" <jcribley@caselombardi.com>, "Lawrence Goya" <hawaiiag@hawaii.gov>, "Pension Benefit Guaranty Association" <participant.pro@pbgc.gov>, "James B Nicholson" <jamesbnicholson@aol.com>, "Executive Office for U.S. Trustees" <ustrustee.program@usdoj.gov>, "Office of Inspector General US Dept of Justice" <oig.hotline@usdoj.gov>, "George Will" <georgewill@washpost.com>, "Haunani Apoliona" <info@oha.org>, "Leroy Colombe" <lcolombe@ckdbw.com>, "Scott Helman" <shelman@globe.com>, "Bob Nichols" <bob.bobnichols@gmail.com>, "Laura Thielen" <dlnr@hawaii.gov>, "Barry Taniguchi" <communications@hcf-hawaii.org>, "Paul Achitoff" <honoluluoffice@earthjustice.org>, "Laurie Bennett" <info@muckety.com>, "Dave Shapiro" <volcanicash@gmail.com>, "Gail Kim-Moe" <Gkim.moe@gmail.com>, "Marshall Chriswell" <mc@whistleblowers.org>, "Greg Palast" <palast@gregpalast.com>, "Dee Jay Mailer" <ksinfo@ksbe.edu>, "Laser Haas" <laserhaas@msn.com>, "Michael Moore" <mike@michaelmoore.com>, "Texas Observer" <editors@texasobserver.org>, "Brian W. Bisignani" <bbisignani@postschell.com>, "Aon Insurance Managers" <mike_coulter@agl.aon.com>, "William Burgess" <hwburgess@hawaii.rr.com>, "Brian E. Schatz" <teamschatz@gmail.com>, "Patricia Case" <pattycase@aol.com>, "Cheryl Nakamura" <CNakamura@rmhawaii.com>, "Bill Yuen" <billyuen@cymlaw.com>, "Randall W. Wulff" <rwulff@wqsadr.com>, "Karen Spiller" <karen.spiller@baesystems.com>, "Andrew Killgore" <akillgore@wrmea.com>, "Patrick Leahy" <senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov>, "Pamela A. McCullough" <HONOLULU@FBI.GOV>, "James Duke Aiona" <ltgov@hawaii.gov>, "Ken Conklin" <ken_conklin@yahoo.com>, "William H. Donaldson" <enforcement@sec.gov>, "Ian Lind" <diary@ilind.net>, "Jim Terrack" <tnthawaii@aol.com>, "Andrew Walden" <hfpeditor@email.com>, "All Senators" <sens@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "All Representatives" <reps@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "Thomas Fitton" <info@judicialwatch.org>, "Stew Webb" <stewwebb@stewwebb.com>, "Judson Witham" <jurisnot@yahoo.com>, "J C Shannon" <Hapa1234@aol.com>, "Jeff Biener" <jeffandmary@ozarkopathy.org>, "V K Durham" <vkdtdht@pionet.net>, "Richard Grove" <Richard@8thEstate.com>, "Bradley Tamm" <btamm@hawaii.rr.com>, "Susan Tius" <STius@rmhawaii.com>, "Paul Alston" <palston@ahfi.com>, "John Goemans" <wip@kamuela.com>, "William K Slate" <Websitemail@adr.org>, "Lissa Andrews" <landrews@rmhawaii.com>, "John D. Finnegan" <info@chubb.com>, "Terry Mullen" <tmullen@johnmullen.com>, "Margery Bronster" <info@bchlaw.net>, "Michael N. Tanoue" <mtanoue@paclawgroup.com>, "Neil Ambercrombie" <Neil.Abercrombie@mail.house.gov>, "Lyn Flanigan Anzai" <lflanigan@hsba.org>, "Lorraine Inouye" <seninouye@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "Samuel P. King" <leslie_sai@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Arthur Rath" <imua@spamarrest.com>, "Randall Roth" <rroth@hawaii.edu>, "Rick Daysog" <rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com>, "Jim Dooley" <jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com>, "Robin Campaniano" <aigh001@aighawaii.com>, "Blossom Tong" <blossom.d.tong@marsh.com>, "Sammye Richardson" <sammyerichardson@yahoo.com>, "Daniel Hopsicker" <madcownews@gmail.com>, "Richard L Righter" <righterwmx@aol.com>, "Dirk Kempthorne" <webteam@ios.doi.gov>, "Jeffrey Sia" <Jeff.Sia@excite.com>, "Jim Babka" <downsizer-dispatch@downsizedc.org>, "Truth" <truth@grandecom.net>, "J. C. Jones" <JCJJONES@aol.com>, "Dane Field" <danefl@gucl.com>, "Jeffrey Watanabe" <jwatanabe@wik.com>

Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
220 South King Street, Suite 1900
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

The Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal (also known as the AIPAC espionage scandal) refers to allegations that information regarding United States policy towards Iran was passed to Israel through Lawrence Franklin via staffers of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC].

Franklin, a former Defense Department employee, has pleaded guilty to several espionage-related charges and was sentenced in January 2006 to nearly thirteen years of prison. Two former AIPAC employees have also been indicted.

The investigation and prosecutions, which began in 1999, have attracted attention because critics of U.S. Israeli policy have claimed AIPAC has served as a conduit for Israel’s spying efforts with near impunity due to its powerful connections in Washington. Franklin's indictment mentioned but did not name several foreign diplomats, widely believed to be Israeli, as being involved with his efforts....

IN RE: BISHOP, BALDWIN, REWALD, DILLINGHAM & WONG, INC.,
a Hawaii corporation, Debtor.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii Martin Pence, District Judge, Presiding

Before: J. Clifford Wallace, Mary M. Schroeder, and Arthur A. Alarcon, Circuit Judges.

James F. Evers, Wagner, Watson & Pettit, Honolulu, Hawaii, for appellees Graulty, as trustee, and Wagner, Watson & Pettit.

Stanley E. Levin, Davis & Levin, Honolulu, Hawaii, for appellee Graulty, individually.

Louise K.Y. Ing, Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing, Honolulu, Hawaii, for appellees Thomas Hayes and Honolulu Professional Services.

The United States Trustee (U.S. Trustee) appeals from the district court's order overruling the objection to Reynaldo Graulty's final report as trustee for the Bishop Estate (Estate). The district court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.S 157(d). We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S 1291, and we vacate the district court's order and remand this case for 56 days for clarification.

During 1990-1992, Graulty was trustee for the Estate. Mary Louise Scheulin, as an employee of the Estate, oversaw its day-to-day operations during that time and incurred both salary and rent expenses. Scheulin was hired by the Estate's administrative controller, Thomas Hayes, whom Graulty hired with the district court's approval. Over the U.S. Trustee's objection, the district court, on May 26, 1995, approved Graulty's final report for the Estate. In that report, the Estate, and not Graulty, was responsible for Scheulin's expenses. The U.S. Trustee again objected that the workload of the Estate did not justify Scheulin's employment, and argued that someone else -- presumably Graulty -- should be responsible for Scheulin's expenses. The district court once more overruled the U.S. Trustee's objection on July 14, 1995 ....

Since we remand the case solely due to the failure of Graulty to prepare the final report adequately and due to omissions in the draft order he presented to the court, the district court shall not require the Estate to compensate Graulty for any work arising from this remand.

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday subpoenaed former White House top political adviser Karl Rove to testify about whether the White House improperly meddled with the Justice Department.

Accusations of politics influencing decisions at the department led to last year's resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

The subpoena issued Thursday orders Rove to testify before the House panel on July 10. He is expected to face questions about the White House's role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers had negotiated with Rove's attorneys for more than a year over whether the former top aide to President Bush would testify voluntarily.

"It is unfortunate that Mr. Rove has failed to cooperate with our requests," Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement. "Although he does not seem the least bit hesitant to discuss these very issues weekly on cable television and in the print news media, Mr. Rove and his attorney have apparently concluded that a public hearing room would not be appropriate."

"Unfortunately, I have no choice today but to compel his testimony on these very important matters," Conyers said.

Neither Rove nor his attorney, Robert Luskin, could be immediately reached for comment.

NEW DISCOVERY (05-04-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Randall Wulff, Larry Silverstein, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Joshua Gotbaum, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Roy Hughes, Colbert Matsumoto, James Watanabe, J. Douglas Ing, Diane Hastert, Bert Kobayashi, Warren Price III, James Duca, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, AIG, and others:

Attorney was picked by judge in New York to help
on panel determining value of damages

An East Bay attorney and mediator will play a pivotal role in determining the amount of loss resulting from the World Trade Center's destruction at the hands of terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.

Randall W. Wulff of Piedmont was selected Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be chief umpire on a three-person appraisal panel that will address reconstruction costs as well as rental value and business interruption damages. Hearings are expected to begin later this year.

The battle over the monetary costs of the World Trade Center's destruction, and who will be paid how much for those costs, has become almost as twisted as the wreckage of the towers. And the battle has turned somewhat political, with New York officials touting the rebuilding of Ground Zero as crucial to the region's economic recovery.

World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein claims his insurers owe him almost twice their policy limits -- as much as $6.8 billion -- based on a switch in insurance forms that he believes recognizes the two impacts by two hijacked jet airliners as two separate losses. His claim went to a six-man, six-woman federal jury Monday after a 10-week trial.

After the jury -- and those in future proceedings involving other members of Silverstein's jury pool -- has determined the extent of the insurers' liability, it'll be up to Wolff's panel to determine what the actual losses are.

Wulff was with San Francisco's Farella, Braun and Martel from 1974 -- first as a trial lawyer, and from 1994 on as a "neutral" mediator -- until 2000, when he cofounded Oakland's Wulff Quinby Sochynsky, which exclusively provides mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services.

He has helped settle almost 2,000 cases in the past 15 years, including the recent $1.1 billion settlement of the California class action against Microsoft. He also has helped resolve monetary disputes related to renovation of the Oakland Arena and construction of other high-profile projects from ballparks to Las Vegas casinos. And he has authored, edited or co-edited books on alternative dispute resolution.

His firm's Web site says his daily fee is $9,500 for cases in the Bay Area or Sacramento, $11,000 for cases elsewhere.

Wulff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, attended the Netherlands Institute of International Business and holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

A sample of names follows here. A lengthier list of specific references from counsel and parties in cases where Mr. Wulff has acted as mediator is also available upon request....

Diane D. Hastert, Esq.
Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
1600 Pauahi Tower, 1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-8031

Bert T. Kobayashi, Esq.
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
First Hawaiian Center, Suite 2600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-529-8700

Andrew Winer, Esq.
Winer Heheula & Devens
Pali Palms Plaza
970 North Kalaheo Ave, Suite A-300
Kailua, HI 96734
Telephone: 808-254-5855

David Schulmeister, Esq.
Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200

John T. Hoshibata, Esq.
Crabtree & Hoshibata
2300 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-524-5644

Warren Price III, Esq.
Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum
Ocean View Center
707 Richards Street, Suite 728
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-538-1113

Roy F. Hughes
Hughes & Taosaka
900 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-526-9744

Brad S. Petrus
Tom Teetrus & Miller
The Arcade Building
212 Merchant Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-522-0800

Milton M. Yasunaga
Cades Schutte Law Firm
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200

John T. Komeiji
Watanabe Ing & Komeiji
999 Bishop Street, 23^rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-544-8300

Roger Moseley
Moseley Biehl Tsugawa Lau & Muzzi
1100 Alakea Street, 23^rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-0490

James T. Paul, Esq.
Paul Johnson Park & Niles
Pacific Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1300
P.O.Box 4438
Honolulu, HI 96812
Telephone: 808-524-1212

James Lawhn
Oliver, Lau, Lawhn, Ogawa & Nakamura
707 Richards Street, Suite 600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-533-3999

Kamehameha Schools is trying to get back as much as $2 million of the $7 million it paid last year to settle a lawsuit that challenged its admissions policy favoring Hawaiian students, according to legal papers filed in federal court in California.

The papers are contained in new litigation filed after publication of an Advertiser news story in February that revealed that the settlement was $7 million.

The money was paid to a Big Island mother and child in return for their agreement to drop the lawsuit just before the U.S. Supreme Court was to decide whether it would hear an appeal of the case.

The plaintiffs, who have never been publicly identified and are known as Jane and John Doe, alleged in the California case that the schools "threatened" to publicly identify them if they did not place $2 million in an escrow account for possible return to the schools because terms of the confidential settlement had been revealed.

Ken Kuniyuki, a Hawai'i lawyer who now represents the pair, is alleging that David Schulmeister, an attorney for the schools, said that if the schools were forced to file suit over the issue, the names of the Does would become public.

Kuniyuki made the allegation in a sworn declaration filed this month in federal court in Sacramento, seeking a court order barring public identification of the plaintiffs.

Schools attorney Paul Alston denied that Schulmeister threatened to reveal the plaintiff's identities.

"Schulmeister told Kuniyuki that the (Kamehameha Schools/ Bishop Estate) believed the settlement agreement had been breached and that the estate was entitled to damages," Alston said in court papers filed April 14 in Sacramento.

"He further explained that a public lawsuit could make it difficult for the Does' anonymity to be preserved" and suggested that the $2 million be held in escrow while the parties discussed resolution of the dispute short of a lawsuit, according to Alston.

Alston stressed on Tuesday that Kamehameha Schools has not filed a lawsuit or taken any action that would publicly identify the Does.

Tuesday night and yesterday, the Kamehameha Schools board of trustees and Chief Executive Dee Jay Mailer sent a mass e-mail to parents and alumni notifying them of the new legal skirmishing in California and alerting them that The Advertiser was preparing a story on the subject.

"A breach of confidentiality has occurred, and an investigation into the line of responsibility is in process. Legal action as appropriate shall follow," the trustees' e-mail said.

"It is aggravating to be drawn into this complicated and unsavory infighting," the trustees' message continued. "However, we will not allow this latest legal maneuver to distract us from our mission."

Jane and John Doe filed legal papers in Sacramento federal court denying any role in the release of the settlement figure by John Goemans, an attorney who used to represent them but who now is involved in a dispute over compensation for his services in the case.

Their attorney, Kuniyuki, also asked the federal court to issue a restraining order against all parties in the case preventing any attempts to disclose the identities of Jane and John Doe.

He attached an April 2 sworn statement from Jane Doe that said, "both John Doe and I fear for our safety if our identities are made public."

She noted that more than 1,550 reader comments were posted on the Advertiser's Web site following the February story that disclosed the settlement amount.

"Many of them are extremely critical of us. Some include threats of violence against us," she said.

"I have lived in Hawai'i for many years. The negative comments and threats posted to the Honolulu Advertiser's February 8, 2008 article are entirely consistent with my experience with many local residents regarding the admissions policy of the Kamehameha Schools."

If their identities become public, she said, "we are prepared to move and go into hiding."

Last week, following a hearing before U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell Jr., all parties in the federal court case stipulated that they would not disclose the true identities of the Does.

Goemans told The Advertiser in February that he believed the settlement amount should be a matter of public record, given Kamehameha Schools' status as the wealthiest and most influential nonprofit institution in Hawai'i.

In a separate civil case now pending in Sacramento state court, Goemans was sentenced earlier this month to serve eight days in jail and fined $4,000 for violating a court order to keep the settlement amount secret.

Goemans, 73, now living in Florida with his sister, said by telephone, "I have zero money, I have serious health issues, and now I've been ordered to serve an eight-day jail sentence in California in the middle of May. I don't know what's going to happen."

The California state case was filed against Goemans by Eric Grant, a Sacramento attorney who litigated the Does' lawsuit from the time it was first filed in Hawai'i in 2003 through its settlement in May 2007.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Grant was entitled to 40 percent of the $7 million total, or $2.8 million.

He sued Goemans in Superior Court in Sacramento last year to try to settle the outstanding question of how much Goemans should be compensated.

Goemans conceived the civil rights lawsuit against the schools, found the plaintiffs on the Big Island and brought them together with Grant.

Goemans said the only money he has received was a $20,000 loan from Jane Doe but believes he is entitled to as much as 25 percent of the total settlement, or $1.75 million.

According to documents filed in the California state case, Grant became concerned early this year that Goemans intended to reveal the amount of the legal settlement and on Feb. 5 obtained a court order against Goemans blocking any such disclosures.

Three days later, The Advertiser published a news story based on Goemans' statements about the settlement amount.

Goemans said in a sworn statement filed with the California court March 17 that he is "not medically or mentally 100 percent" and had no memory of being informed of the Feb. 5 court order.

"I want to emphasize to the court that it was not my intent to deliberately and knowingly violate the court's order," the statement said.

But he reiterated his belief that Kamehameha Schools, as a tax-exempt organization, should not and cannot keep the terms of the settlement confidential.

After the settlement terms were made public, Grant filed a new federal lawsuit March 28 in Sacramento against Kamehameha Schools and his own clients, Jane and John Doe, asking the court for a ruling that he was not responsible for the disclosure and has no financial liability because of it.

Grant and an attorney who represents him did not return telephone requests for comment.

Alston filed a lengthy legal memo in the case last week questioning the Sacramento court's jurisdiction in the matter since the Does and the schools are in Hawai'i.

NEW DISCOVERY (04-22-08): Trustee David Farmer’s and Steven Guttman’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC and other key witnesses in this case:

In his "MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR ORDER TO DISAPPROVE APPOINTMENT OF DAVID C. FARMER AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE", filed with the Court on August 24, 2007, the Trustee's attorney, Steven Guttman, Esq., of the law firm, Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, stated to the Court:

"... Harmon is once again attempting to create issues of conflict where none exist by attempting to draw connections between phantom dots."...

Mr. Guttman does not elaborate beyond this simple statement of HIS PERSONAL OPINION, as to WHICH of the thousands of connections I have cited that he wishes the Court to accept, without question, as being merely "phantom dots". In other court filings, Mr. Guttman has characterized my Motions as consisting of "conspiracy theories" -- again with no specific references.

Despite these unnamed "phantom dots" and "conspiracy theories", the Court has blithely and unquestionably gone along with Mr. Guttman's opinions and has repeatedly denied ALL Motions that I have made. In fact, both Courts involved have ruled that the Court Clerk shall not accept any future filings from me without the Courts' prior approval - which it has repeatedly declined to give.

Therefore, due to the fact that I continue to discover new, material FACTS almost daily, I am preparing a set of NEW EXHIBITS in which I intend to document the financial, professional, personal, and political connections between the many various entities involved in this case.

The following is a listing of named witnesses in this case who have factual connections with the subject entity. Each underlined name has been linked to a detailed description of that witness to enable the reader to more easily CONNECT THE DOTS TO...

David C. Farmer, Esq.
Office of the United States Trustee
c/o Steven Guttman, Esq., Kessner Duca Umebayashi, et al.
220 S. King Street, Floor 10
Honolulu, HI 96813

Re: 99-04339 - David C. Farmer, Trustee vs. Bobby N. Harmon
Ref. New Exhibit: “THE DIRTY MILLIONS FOR ARMAGEDDON”

Due to new discoveries regarding the Integrated Resources securities fraud and illegal U.S. political campaign funding by foreign nationals (Israel), I am adding the subject Exhibit. You will find this new Exhibit and related witness descriptions at:

Mr. Farmer, I again suggest that we try to resolve this matter through negotiation rather that your continuing indefinitely this illegal SLAPP lawsuit.

NEW DISCOVERY (04-11-08): Trustee James B. Nicholson failed to disclose that he was the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee for Defendant’s witness, Peter Savio, even though he was asked specifically if he had any business, professional, personal or political relationships with Mr. Savio:

Any interview that focuses on Peter Savio's new company, Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd., will soon focus on another Top 250 company, Central Pacific Bank. Says Savio: "They're malicious. They're vicious. I am going to become a stockholder in Central Pacific Bank. I am going to reform that institution. Their mistake was they stomped me. They didn't kill me. I'm coming back. I'm going to have fun with them."

Go back to the year 2001. Savio Inc., a holding company for eight real estate sales and development companies, was No. 56 on the Top 250, with $134.6 million in 2000 gross sales. But in 2001, Savio Inc. filed for Chapter 7 liquidation, and Peter Savio and his wife filed for personal bankruptcy protection. Savio says he was forced into the bankruptcies because CPB gave him just five days to move from his second-floor offices at 931 University Ave. Savio says he had been in a workout plan with a number of lenders after he started experiencing cash-flow problems in the mid-1990s. But CPB forced his hand.

"The only way to stop them was, I had to file for personal bankruptcy. So to save my employees and everything else, I filed for personal bankruptcy - one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. But I was really pissed at Central Pacific Bank for doing that," he says.

"It was tough," he adds. "Basically I lost everything. Lost my house. Lost everything. Had to basically come back from nothing."

Today, Savio is more than back. His real estate company, Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd., lists 2002 gross sales of $177 million. Its office is downstairs in the same building that Savio Inc.'s once was. And the company is No. 27, ahead of CPB Inc. (No. 49), something Savio will rejoice to read. Savio says, "I've decided that my goal is to beat them in the Top 250. … just so we can say, 'Nannynannybooboo!'"

That's not all. "My short-term and my long-term goal is to reform Central Pacific Bank," Savio says. "I think I'm going to buy the bank."

Ann Takiguchi, Central Pacific Financial's communications officer, says, "We made every effort to work with Mr. Savio, and it is unfortunate that he is blaming us for his situation. Out of respect for our customers' privacy, we have no further comment. As a matter of bank policy, we don't comment on the affairs of our customers."

Bankruptcy court filings show that Central Pacific Bank claimed that Savio Inc. owed it about $1.5 million when Savio filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The Internal Revenue Service and Pitney Bowes Credit Corp. also listed claims of about $2,000 each.

The court-appointed trustee for Savio Inc.'s bankruptcy case, attorney Jim Nicholson, says the only unencumbered asset of the estate, a unit in the Diamond Head Beach apartment building, was sold for $375,000 in June 2003.

Gross sales for Savio's other new company, Hawaiian Island Development, were not reported for this year's Top 250, so one thing is for sure: Next year, he'll be back. Says Savio: "We're going to set up a new holding company called, 'I Hate CPB.' No, my attorney said I couldn't do that. I have a warped sense of humor, OK? But anyway, the new holding company is going to be Ohia Holdings."

Knowing Savio, there is marked symbolism in that choice. After all, the Ohia tree can be found growing in the middle of old lava flows.

NEW DISCOVERY (03-01-08): Undisclosed relationships between Steven Guttman, Michael Powell, John McCain, Federal Communications Commission, Summit Communications, Sandwich Isles Communications, Robert Kihune, Gilbert Tam, Al Hee, Clayton Hee, David Farmer, and others. See:

NEW DISCOVERY (02-09-08): Kamehameha Schools made a “confidential” settlement agreement with the plaintiff in the John Doe vs. Kamehameha Schools case, which my former attorney, John Goemans, Esq., says, according to what he has learned from the IRS, violates the rules for a non-profit charitable trust:

An attorney involved in a challenge to Kamehameha Schools' Hawaiians-only policy reveals the amount of a settlement

Kamehameha Schools made the first move to settle a legal challenge to their admissions policy giving preference to native Hawaiians and later agreed to pay $7 million, a lawyer involved in the case said yesterday.

John Goemans, an attorney for an unnamed non-native Hawaiian student who filed a lawsuit contesting the policy, said the charitable trust offered for the first time to talk about an out-of-court settlement last May, just days before the U.S. Supreme Court was to decide whether to hear the case.

Goemans, a former Big Island attorney recuperating in Florida from heart surgery, and Sacramento, Calif., lawyer Eric Grant, the lead attorney, represented the unnamed student and his mother.

"They (the schools) approached Eric and said we wanted to settle and we have to settle by Friday morning," when it was believed the high court was to make a decision about accepting the case, Goemans said.

He said it appeared the high court would accept their appeal of an 8-7 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the policy.

"They (the schools) were worried about losing in the Supreme Court," Goemans said.

Goemans said he did not know how Grant and the Kamehameha Schools arrived at the $7 million figure.

The hotly disputed federal civil rights lawsuit caused a firestorm of controversy among Kamehameha Schools supporters who believed the challenge struck at the more than century-old admissions policy and the heart of the charitable trust's mission to educate children of Hawaiian ancestry.

The confidential settlement was announced on May 14. Those connected with the case repeatedly refused to disclose the terms.

Goemans said he was disclosing the amount because he said he recently learned from Internal Revenue Service officials that Kamehameha Schools, a tax-exempt charitable trust, cannot keep the figure confidential.

"Because exempt organizations operate in the public good, you got to report all your expenses with particularity, and you cannot keep information relative to those expenses confidential," he said. "It's in the public interest to have full disclosure."

Ann Botticelli, Kamehameha Schools spokeswoman, said yesterday the settlement contained a confidentiality clause.

"We intend to honor the terms, and we will not be discussing the settlement or John Goemans' assertions," she said.

Kamehameha Schools, a multibillion-dollar charitable trust and the state's largest private landowner, was established under the 1883 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. It educates more than 6,700 students at its flagship campus at Kapalama Heights, two other campuses on Maui and the Big Island, and 31 preschools throughout the state.

Senior U.S. District Judge Alan Kay upheld the school's Hawaiians-first policy, but a panel of the appeals court in San Francisco ruled 2-1 that the practice violated federal civil rights laws. That decision triggered statewide protests and marches by school supporters.

It was an appeal by Grant of that 8-7 ruling that was on the doorsteps of the U.S. Supreme Court when the settlement was announced.

At the time, school officials indicated that the settlement calling for the dismissal of the lawsuit leaves intact the appeals court's 8-7 decision upholding the admissions policy.

But the dismissal does not guarantee that another lawsuit might surface and make its way to the high court, although it would first have to go through the federal trial and appeals courts, where the 8-7 ruling would be considered to be binding on the issue. But even if those who file the new lawsuit lose on those two levels, they could still ask the high court to review the case.

Honolulu attorney David Rosen said he has plaintiffs for a lawsuit to challenge the admissions policy. He said the settlement does not affect his case. Rosen said he expects the suit will be filed this year.

Goemans said Grant received 40 percent, or $2.8 million of the $7 million. Goemans said he is preparing to file his own lawsuit seeking to recover a "reasonable percentage" of the $7 million for his work in the case.

Goemans said he found the unnamed student and arranged for Grant to be the attorney for the student and his mother.

"I put the whole thing together," Goemans said. "But for me there would not have been a $7 million payment."

The student never was admitted to Kamehameha Schools because his case was pending. He has since graduated from high school and had been attending college, Grant said last year.

Supporters and critics expressed surprise yesterday at the $7 million Kamehameha Schools paid a student to settle a lawsuit disputing its Hawaiians-first admission policy.

One Kamehameha Schools alumnus says disclosure of the settlement with the anonymous, non-Hawaiian student will prompt questions among Hawaiians.

"I'm not happy with $7 million," said Kamehameha Schools alumnus Jan E. Hanohano Dill. "Unfortunately, that's a lot of money, and it's going to create a lot of questions in the Hawaiian community whether it was right or wrong and to continue."

Dill, also a board member of Na Pua a Ke Ali'i Pauahi, a nonprofit group whose members include students, parents, and alumni of Kamehameha Schools, said he continues to support the school's decision.

"I don't know the details, and I think that's something that has to be cleared," he said. "You settle because you want to avoid costs that would be incurred as you go forward."

He added, "I have to believe that they understood that this was something good for the Hawaiian people. ... It will be clear as things unfold whether that was true."

Dill, who is also president of the nonprofit Partners in Development Foundation, said the admissions policy must eventually be addressed and that the settlement avoids this case but does not stop other cases.

Marion Joy, former vice president of Na Pua, called the settlement a "misuse of trust funds."

"The trust is continually going to be challenged," she said. "This is not going to be the last. ... As far as settling for the particular lawsuit, it's not in the best interests of the beneficiaries (of the 1883 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop)."

Honolulu attorney David Rosen, who has sought potential clients to sue Kamehameha over its admissions policy after the settlement, sent out a statement yesterday that said the $7 million settlement was used to "buy off this case."

He added that the trustees should open a campus on the Leeward Coast of Oahu and possibly Molokai where increased educational opportunities are needed.

H. William Burgess, a retired attorney and founder of Aloha for All, a group opposed to Hawaiian sovereignty, said the settlement raises questions about the proper use of the trust funds.

"Normally, trustees, if they're doubtful about doing something, they ask the court to give them instructions," he said. "Yet in this case, the biggest charitable trust, probably in the nation, instead of welcoming the opportunity to get the highest court in the land to settle it, they pay $7 million to leave it open. And it is very much open."

The Wise Old Owl asks: How much of the settlement amount came from Kamehameha’s insurance companies, and how much came from the trust funds? How much did Kamehameha Schools (and/or their insurance company) spend for defense costs in this case before they decided to settle? Who is their insurance company? Their insurance broker? Who actually signed the Settlement Agreement?

NEW DISCOVERY (11-20-07): Steven Guttman and Alan Ma are attorneys for Grayline Hawaii in their long-running bankruptcy case, with relationships to Kamehameha Schools’ Trustee J. Douglas Ing, and CEO Dee Jay Mailer:

In the Matter of the Application of GRAY LINE HAWAI`I, LTD. or Permanent Approval to Bifurcate Its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Operate in the Over-25 Passenger Classifications on the Islands Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai to Polynesian Adventure Tours, Inc

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.

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 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.

"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 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.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today signed two bills into law that will help protect Hawai‘i’s senior citizens from financial abuse and fraud. The two bills, along with one signed earlier this month, are part of the Administration’s continuing effort to protect residents against scam artists, especially those who target kupuna with fraudulent investment schemes.

“Defrauding our seniors is particularly deplorable since they are more vulnerable than others, as many are retired and living off their life savings,” said Governor Lingle. “Many seniors may not have a close and active support system to assist and protect them from money scams. These measures provide additional safeguards and deterrents to help keep our kupuna from becoming victims of unscrupulous individuals.”

Under this new law, which takes effect immediately, financial institutions in Hawai‘i will be required to report any suspected financial abuse committed against a senior citizen aged 62 or older to the Department of Human Services (DHS) or a local law enforcement agency.

Employees of financial institutions are in a unique position to observe activity relating to potential financial abuse involving elders. The new law imposes a mandatory duty on any financial institution to report any such suspected incident of financial abuse immediately by telephone to DHS, followed by a written report within five business days.

Once DHS receives such notification, it must determine whether it has jurisdiction over the elder involved, such as a “dependent adult” who is dependent on another person, care organization or care facility because of mental or physical impairment. If DHS determines it lacks jurisdiction, it must notify the financial institution, which is then required to notify the proper law enforcement agency by telephone followed by a written report within three business days.

HB1306 HD2 SD1 (Act 95) – Enhanced Penalties for Securities Violations Against Elders

This measure allows an extra $50,000 fine per violation to be added to any existing civil or administrative fine levied for securities violations against a person 62 years or older. Specifically, it allows the Commissioner of Securities to impose additional administrative penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, and allows a court to impose additional civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation committed against seniors. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2007.

Earlier this month, the Governor signed HB1336 SD1 (Act 50), which imposes fines of up to $10,000 for each violation by mortgage brokers and solicitors committed against seniors. The bill deters unscrupulous brokers who convince elderly homeowners to sign mortgages that cause them to forfeit the equity in their property or lose their home. Act 50 also takes effect on July 1, 2007.

The three bills to protect Hawai‘i seniors from financial abuse and fraud were introduced as part of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s legislative package.

Today’s bill signing ceremony was held in conjunction with the Older Americans Recognition Luncheon at Washington Place to highlight the fact that senior citizens in Hawai‘i and across the nation are increasingly becoming targets of investment scams.

HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com

» The Collection Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association has elected its officers for 2006: Steven Guttman, chairman; David L. Monroy, vice chairman; David C. Farmer, treasurer; Thomas J. Wong, secretary; Marvin S.C. Dang, immediate past chairman.

Appellees: Richard B. Emery, Taylor Leong & Chee, Long Group (The), Richard B. Ferguson, Hugh Menefee Development Corp., David C. Farmer and Barbara Sumida

Steven Guttman is also expected to testify as to the facts of the settlement, including alleged fraudulent court filings regarding the Agreement; tax-related issues (i.e., why Kamehameha Schools did not pay the legally required IRS Social Security and employment taxes on the Settlement Funds, and why Kamehameha Schools did not make the required contributions into Harmon’s Employee Retirement Fund); multiple undeclared conflicts of interests, and other issues.

Steven Guttman is also expected to provide a complete, signed copy of the Settlement Agreement, including Exhibit 5, which was omitted from the Arbitration Demand and in the instant case. This exhibit has been reported to be the “Order Granting Trustee’s Motion To Approve Settlement,” which was filed in Court on March 24, 2000; however, the Settlement Release and Indemnification Agreement itself was NOT SIGNED by all parties at the time of its filing by Steven Guttman, and at the time it was approved by Judge Lloyd King. (The Agreement was not signed by Federal Insurance Co. until June 29, 2000, and by Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. until 9/11/00.)

Steven Guttman is also expected to testify regarding Defendant’s contention that this constituted an incomplete, deceptive, and fraudulent filing by Trustee Mary Lou Woo, and, therefore, was an invalid contract which is unenforceable under contract law.

Steven Guttman is also expected to testify regarding his law firm’s undisclosed conflict of interest in this lawsuit, as James Duca was the attorney for former Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey at the time of Defendant’s RICO lawsuit against the former trustees, et al.

Insurance Company Clients
American International Underwriters	Amwest Surety Insurance Company
Argonaut Insurance Company	Baptiste Insurance Group
Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC)	Farmers Insurance Group
Gulf Underwriters Insurance Company	Kemper Insurance Companies
Lexington Insurance Company	Majestic Insurance Company
Mutual Assurance Group	Pacific Insurance Company
Signal Mutual Indemnity Association	State Farm Group
TIG Insurance Company	Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co, Ltd.
Transamerica Group/AEGON USA, Inc.	Wausau Insurance Company
Western Indemnity Insurance Company	Zurich American Insurance Company

Non-Insurance Company Clients
AIG Claim Services, Inc.	Honolulu Shipyard, Inc.
Kapiolani Medical Center	The Queen's Medical Center
Safeway, Inc.	St. Francis Medical Center