Woo vs. Harmon - Witness Lawrence M. Johnson

David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)

U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii

—

DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

LAWRENCE M. JOHNSON

Former Chairman/CEO of Pacific Century Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Bank of Hawaii; Director, the East-West Center, Hawaii Pacific University, Trex Enterprises, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, the Japan-America Society of Hawaii, the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii and Dole Food Co., Oahu Publications Inc. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin), and MidWeek Printing Inc.

Address to be determined.

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

March 14, 2009

Ex-CEO of Bankoh considered
for Citigroup board

By David Segal, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

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.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

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NEW DISCOVERY (07-19-08):

October 10, 2003

Hemmeter projects and
persona larger than life

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Gina Mangieri

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right place, right time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Admirers and critics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A sting after 30 years developing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reach Gina Mangieri, PBN editor, at 955-8030 or gmangieri@bizjournals.com

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

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January 27, 2006

Aloha Airlines achieves deal to
ascend from bankruptcy

By Dave Segal, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Aloha Airlines has reached a new deal with its investors that soon could fly the carrier out of bankruptcy.

The company, whose emergence from bankruptcy was delayed last month by an appeal from the federal agency that guarantees pension plans, filed a motion yesterday seeking a hearing Tuesday before Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris on a restructured reorganization proposal.

A NEW BEGINNING

Key features of Aloha Airlines' modified reorganization plan:

» $43.25 million in cash from the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I LP

» $16.8 million in cash and converted debt from the Aloha Aviation Investment Group

» $2.2 million from Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC, consisting of the Ing family partnership of Richard Ing and his sister, Louise Ing Sitch; Hawaii developer Stanford Carr; Duane Kurisu; and Colbert Matsumoto

» $750,000 from GMAC

» $35 million in exit debt financing

» $4.5 million in cost savings

Aloha also is asking for a waiver of the 10-day comment period if Faris approves the new plan....

David Banmiller, president and chief executive of Aloha, said in a statement yesterday that he hopes the modifications allow for a successful completion of Aloha's bankruptcy reorganization and the recapitalization of the company.

"The new equity investment clearly strengthens Aloha's financial position and has the added advantage of participation by new Hawaii investors," Banmiller said.

Aloha's new plan includes $43.25 million in cash from the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I LP, headed by billionaire grocery magnate Ronald Burkle, and $16.8 million in cash and converted debt from Aloha Aviation Investment Group, led by former National Football League star Willie Gault. Yucaipa's cash investment is a $10 million increase from its previous proposal.

In addition, $2.2 million in cash is coming from a new group, Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC, which consists of the Ing family partnership of Richard Ing and his sister, attorney Louise Ing Sitch, both of whom are among the current owners of the airline; Hawaii developer Stanford Carr; Duane Kurisu, who has Hawaii commercial real estate and communications holdings; and Colbert Matsumoto, president of Island Holdings Inc., the parent company of Island Insurance.

Kurisu and Matsumoto are board members of Oahu Publications Inc., publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and MidWeek....

GMAC, the finance arm of General Motors, also is putting in $750,000 in cash....

Included in the new cost savings are the elimination of a proposed $2 million note and $175,000 cash distribution to Aloha's unsecured creditors. The total amount of unsecured claims against the carrier is approximately $207 million, according to the motion, and it is uncertain how many cents on the dollar unsecured creditors will get. However, the motion said the recovery to unsecured creditors under the modified plan will be reduced by less than 1 percent from what creditors were going to receive under the previous plan. Under that plan, unsecured creditors were expected to receive less than 5 cents on the dollar.

The attorneys and advisers connected with the case also have agreed to reduce their fees collectively by $1 million.

Aloha said in its filing that all key constituents support the plan and that it must be approved expeditiously.

"If not," the motion said, "there is the distinct possibility that (Aloha) could run out of cash and would be forced to cease operating, rendering 3,500 residents of the state of Hawaii unemployed, and severely harming the state of Hawaii's passenger and cargo operations."

The new deal became necessary when investors Yucaipa and AAIG balked after Aloha failed to emerge from bankruptcy by a Dec. 15 deadline. Aloha's first reorganization plan was approved on Nov. 29.

Aloha, which filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 30, 2004, saw its goal of emerging from Chapter 11 in less than a year thwarted when the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. filed several last-minutes appeals last month. The agency and Aloha have since reached a tentative settlement, though details have not been disclosed.

Aloha blamed the PBGC's appeals and rising fuel prices for the need to restructure the deal.

"These cost increases make the original plan's capital and price structure unworkable," the motion said.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/27/news/story04.html

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David Black, Dan Case, Dennis Francis,
Larry Johnson, Duane Kurisu, Warren Luke,
Colbert Matsumoto, Jeffrey Watanabe, Michael Wo

Dennis Francis, Publisher

Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor

Frank Bridgewater, Editor

Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor

Mary Poole, Editorial Page Editor

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2005

More Information Contact:
Grant Bishop
(858) 646-5553
email: gbishop@trexenterprises.com

TWO PROMINENT HAWAII LEADERS WILL
HELP GUIDE HIGH-TECH COMPANY

JEFFREY WATANABE AND LARRY JOHNSON ELECTED
TO THE TREX ENTERPRISES BOARD

Trex Enterprises Corporation is pleased to announce Jeffrey N. Watanabe, Esq. and Lawrence M. Johnson have been elected to its Board. Watanabe is a principal at Watanabe Ing Kawashima Komeiji, LLP, and Johnson is the past Chairman and CEO of Bank of Hawaii.

“Jeff Watanabe and Larry Johnson are extraordinary business leaders,” said Kenneth Y. Tang, Chairman and CEO of Trex Enterprises Corp. “We believe their expertise will help guide the direction of Trex.”

“We have two corporate powerhouses joining us to complement our team of visionaries and the opportunity to make a difference for the future is unlimited!” Said Admiral Thomas B. Fargo, USN (Ret.), Chairman of two of Trex’s subsidiaries, Loea Corporation and Sago Systems Inc. Admiral Fargo, Former Commander of the Pacific Command, joined Trex full-time following his Change of Command in February.

The Trex shareholders elected Watanabe and Johnson during its May 27^th annual meeting. Other members of the Trex Board include VADM Robert Kihune USN (Ret.) and Richard Black. Since 2002, Watanabe has served as a Director of the Board for Loea Corporation.

“I am continuously impressed with the technology, leadership, and vision of Trex Enterprises and I am honored to be appointed to its board,” said Jeffrey Watanabe. “Ken has assembled an incredible team creating state-of-the-art products ranging from high-speed communications to novel airport security systems.”

“Trex Enterprises is a fascinating company and I look forward to using my background and experiences to move the company forward,” said Larry Johnson. “Sophisticated technology, like Trex is creating and deploying, is instrumental to our military, our nation, and our future.”

About Trex Enterprises

Trex Enterprises is a high-tech incubator conducting research and development leading to state-of-the-art commercial and government solutions. Trex is headquartered in San Diego, California with offices in Hawaii (Honolulu, Maui, Kauai), Massachusetts, Washington DC and New Mexico. For information log on @ trexenterprises.com or loeacom.com

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Larry Johnson is expected to testify regarding his business, professional and personal relationships with Henry Paulson; Ed Case; Trex Enterprises; Maui Research & Technology Center; Judge David Ezra; Lokelani Lindsey; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Matsuo Takabuki; Henry Peters; Richard Wong; Peter Savio; Gilbert Tam; Robert K.U. Kihune; Sandwich Isles Communications; Diane J. Plotts; Guido Giacometti; Lyn Anzai; Colleen Wong; Nathan Aipa; Michael J. Chun; Bill Mills; Robert F. Clarke; Edwina Clarke; Michael O’Neill; Rockne Freitas; Guido Giacometti; Donna Tanoue; Oahu Publications Inc.; Colbert Matsumoto; Island Holdings, Inc.; Franklin Tokioka; David Black; Warren Luke; Jeffrey Watanabe; The Nature Conservancy; Haunani Apoliona; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; David Cole; Maui County Council; Judith Neustadter Fuqua; Walter A. Dods, Jr.; Bert A. Kobayashi; Faye Watanabe Kurren; Judge Barry Kurren; C. Brewer & Co.; Robert Katz; Bill Mills; Wayne Minami; Jean Rolles, Outrigger Enterprises; Eric Yeaman; George Ariyoshi; Stanley Hong; The Starr Foundation; C.V.Starr; Hoku Scientific; Hoana Technologies; Landmark Technologies; Robin Campaniano; Robert Bunda; Clayton Hee; Al Hee; Steven Guttman; Michael O’Neill; James Nicholson; Carol Muranaka, Louise Ing, Judge Alan Kay, David Farmer, David Murdock, Mark Hemmeter,. Francis Oda, Group 70, George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Ben Cayetano, Bill Clinton, and others to be named upon discovery.