Woo vs. Harmon - Witness Colbert Matsumoto

Colbert M. Matsumoto, Esq.
Master, Bishop Estate
Amfac Tower, Suite 2000
700 Bishop Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

RE: Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE); Pauahi Holdings Corporation (PHC); P&C Insurance Company, Inc. (P&C)

This is to provide information regarding what may be conflicts of interests, breach of fiduciary duties and other wrongful acts by trustees, officers, directors, managers and other employees of the referenced entities.

I was employed by Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE) as their Risk/Insurance and Safety Manager from November, 1988. I was president of P&C Insurance Company, Inc. (P&C), a for-profit subsidiary of Pauahi Holdings Corporation (PHC) from October, 1994. I was terminated from my position at KSBE by Nathan Aipa on November 20, 1996; and from my position at P&C by Henry H. Peters on the same date.

My responsibilities at KSBE included arranging insurance and bonds for the estate and its subsidiaries, and providing oversight for claims settlements which were handled by the insurance carriers or independent adjusters. Lines of coverage included trustee bonds; bid and performance bonds; crime insurance, including employee dishonesty; directors and officers liability; fiduciary liability; workers compensation; and other property and casualty coverages. Safety was another of my primary responsibilities.

My belief is that the main reason for both terminations was the fact that I would not follow the directives of Henry Peters, Nathan Aipa, Louanne Kam and others to carry out what I believed were illegal or wrongful acts, including tax fraud and the breach of fiduciary duties.

When I was hired by KSBE, I reported to Gil Tam, who was at that time the Director of Personnel, and later became the Administration Group Director. While in this department, I was interviewed by the masters who requested information on the insurance programs including summaries of insurance policies, claims, etc. After I was transferred to the Legal Group, I no longer was given the opportunity to meet personally with the masters. Instead, Nathan Aipa would ask a paralegal or a legal secretary to obtain insurance summaries or other documents requested by the master. Likewise, I never had the opportunity to talk with the IRS auditors that were in the KSBE offices for several months in 1996. I considered this to be the result of Mr. Aipa’s desire to control the disclosure of information that might raise questions of improprieties on the part of the trustees and others.

The following are examples of breaches of fiduciary duties; questionable tax returns; intentional violation of federal and state statutes; discrimination and other wrongful acts:

1. There was a failure to disclose conflicts of interest and other financial information in federal tax returns as regards personal investments by certain trustees, executives, managers and employees in related for-profit companies controlled by KSBE.

2. IRS rules regarding the maintaining of “arms-length” relationships between a tax-exempt charitable organization and its for-profit subsidiaries were being breached. For example, at the direction of Henry Peters, Nathan Aipa, Louanne Kam, Eric Martinson, and others, KSBE paid insurance premium charges, legal fees and claims costs that should have been paid by for-profit subsidiaries (e.g. Kukui, Inc., Sino Finance, Unison Pacific, SoCal, AFCO, Paradise Petroleum, etc.), or by individual trustees, officers, directors or employees.

3. Services were being provided by KSBE employees, including myself, to P&C and other for-profit entities at no cost to the subsidiaries. In effect, KSBE is subsidizing these for-profit entities, which results in larger profits for the subsidiaries (and possibly larger commissions for the Trustees).

4. Henry Peters, Nathan Aipa and Louanne Kam were attempting to control the operations of P&C, including claims. This included directing the payment of “excess benefits” to independent contractors for non-bid or non-existent contracts. For example, P&C contracted with M&M Insurance Management Services, Inc. (M&M IMS), a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan, Inc., for captive management services. This contract was on a time and expense basis, with a cost estimate of around $60,000. Yet the broker, Marsh & McLennan, Inc., was billing P&C an additional flat $200,000 annual fee. There was no contract for these services, and no satisfactory explanation was ever given for the charges. One belated explanation given was that this fee included safety and loss control services and “brokerage” services. However, P&C had paid M&M Protection Services, Inc. (another related company) under a separate “time and expense” contract for the safety services, and M&M had received commissions from the reinsurance carrier for their “brokerage” services. This constituted duplicate billing and well as over-billing for these services. Despite my objections as president of P&C, Peters, Aipa and Kam were adamant that I continue to pay these unexplained overcharges by M&M. In addition to these overcharges, I obtained property insurance proposals from another broker, Hobbs Group, which greatly improved coverages over M&M’s program and reduced the costs by over $600,000 a year. Nathan Aipa and Louanne Kam desperately attempted to prevent Hobbs Group from obtaining this account and to keep M&M on as Broker of Record, even at the risk of losing this program and its savings to the estate.

5. Insurance premiums and loss costs were being improperly allocated to lessees and tenants of KSBE properties. Many of the insurance policies for KSBE and its subsidiaries combine coverages for all entities under the same “blanket” policies. These insurance premiums, as well as the claims costs which were paid under self-insured retentions and deductibles, were allocated to the Kamehameha Schools, to Bishop Estate, and to covered subsidiaries. These charges, in turn, were further allocated to specific commercial projects, such as Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, Windward Mall, Keauhou Shopping Village, Bishop Commerce Center (Georgia), Desert Springs Marketplace (California), etc., in accordance with procedures set forth in KSBE’s Policies & Procedures Manual and under P&C’s operating guidelines. Costs which were allocated to the commercial projects were nearly 100% recovered from the lessees and tenants through their monthly maintenance fees. Due to directives of Nathan Aipa, Louann Kam, Eric Martinson and others, these insurance costs were being improperly allocated, resulting in unfair charges to the tenants and lessees of these projects. The “overcharges” being made by M&M would also be included in these insurance costs that were passed through to tenants and lessees.

6. A portion of these improperly allocated insurance costs were also paid from the millions of dollars of Federal grant funds, including grants for the school’s ROTC program. On KSBE’s tax returns, Form 990, the estate states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, while it is well known that in order to apply for admission you must complete a questionnaire which inquires of the applicant’s racial background.

7. Several of P&C’s claims were being directed by Louanne Kam or other KSBE in-house attorneys. An example was the Larry Ching flood damage claim. Kam, in conjunction with Aipa, wanted to hire an outside attorney and an expert to handle this claim. In keeping with P&C’s “arms-length” guidelines and its Operations Manual, only P&C’s contracted independent adjuster, John Mullen & Co., was authorized to hire attorneys and experts. Furthermore, this involvement by Aipa and Kam was, according to Kam, at the direction of Trustee Richard Wong who wanted to see what we could do to “settle this claim”, which had previously been denied by Mullen based on their findings that this was “an act of God”.

8. Annual financial statements for KSBE and P&C, which were prepared by Coopers & Lybrand (C&L), failed to disclose large claims, and to show adequate financial reserves for these claims (e.g., the McKenzie and Kona Enterprises, claims). I had several discussions with the auditors from C&L during which I expressed my concerns regarding the failure to disclose this information, and on November 20, 1996, I documented some of the recent discussions in a letter to C&L, with a copy to the State Insurance Commissioner. To my knowledge no action was taken by either C&L or the Insurance Commissioner.

9. It was reported that KSBE guaranteed several large bank loans (including loans from Bank of Hawaii) to “insider partners” in several investments.

10. It was reported that an “insurance policy” was issued to Robert Rubin to protect his financial interests in Goldman Sachs while he is serving as U.S. Treasury Secretary. Even though insurance contracts and surety bonds were my area of responsibility, I was never informed of this arrangement and, to my knowledge, no actuarial studies were made, no reinsurance was obtained, and no reserves were established to cover this substantial financial guarantee. (This arrangement would also appear to constitute a conflict of interest situation between the federal government, Robert Rubin, Goldman Sachs, and the wealthiest tax-exempt educational charity in the United States.)

11. There was coercion of employees, by means of threats of discipline or termination, to violate laws or to “look the other way” while superiors engaged in illegal or unethical acts, such as: the altering and/or falsifying of staff reports and contracts; directing notaries public to notarize documents without witnessing the signatures, or the signatories personally signing the notary logs; collusion with independent contractors to conceal and cover-up wrongful acts; discriminatory practices in hiring; and misuse of the “attorney-client privilege” to prevent the disclosure of these acts.

12. In my capacity as president of P&C, I refused to sign the annual financial statements prepared by Coopers & Lybrand for the fiscal period July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1996. The basic reasons for my refusal were the attempts by Henry Peters, Nathan Aipa and Louann Kam to direct all areas of P&C’s operations and investments, including the improper awarding of insurance contracts and settlement of claims, and the failure to set proper loss reserves. I discussed these irregularities with Cary Okawa and Dennis Tsuhako of Coopers & Lybrand on October 18, 1996, and followed-up with a letter dated November 20, 1996, in which I enclosed documents that provided evidence of these wrongful acts. A copy of this letter was sent to the Hawaii Insurance Commissioner.

13. There were intentional violations of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and other environmental regulations, with various attorneys in the Legal Group actively participating in discussions in order to keep the actions of trustees confidential under the “attorney-client privilege” doctrine. The refusal to act promptly to remediate known environmental problems endangered public safety. Two health teachers complained for months that they felt that there was asbestos in their classrooms, and they were assured that there was not. Eventually, the teachers sent samples of the ceiling tile to a testing lab, and asbestos was indeed found in the ceiling materials. The materials were eventually replaced, but the two teachers were labeled as “chronic complainers” and “trouble-makers”. Over 200 known sites on KSBE properties were identified in a “confidential” survey about two years ago. I was not privileged to see the results of the survey. To my knowledge, little or nothing was done to remediate any of these sites. There was known environmental impairment at the Nationwide Industries’ chemical plant in Pandora, Ohio, which the estate did nothing about for the several years it owned Nationwide (the name was later changed to Snap Products, Inc.). When the company was sold, KSBE retained the liability for clean-up of the site. To my knowledge, there was no clean-up during the time I was employed by KSBE. The one site that environmental clean-up was attempted was the Waterpark Tower site. This project was delayed for months, while tenants and neighbors were exposed to the unknown effects of wind-blown and water- borne hazardous chemicals. Even then, the remedial work was questionable, performed by an uninsured, non-licensed contractor, with hazardous materials being transported from the site by an improperly insured (for environmental liability) trucker.

14. The trustees knowingly disregarded regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Colleen Wong informed the committee formed to handle the ADA that the schools were exempt from the regulations because it was “a religious institution”. This was despite an outside legal firm’s prior opinion that KSBE indeed fell under the regulations. A multi-million dollar class action suit filed against the estate and its subsidiaries indeed proved the legal department again to be wrong in its advice. Also the estate failed to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. An example is Marcia Diver, who became disabled on the job from bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome from heavy use of the computer. After having an operation, she was brought back to a job which required even heavier use of the computer. Consequently, her disability worsened. KSBE’s claim committee attempted to bring her back to work in a lighter duty position, but this proposal was successfully defeated by Colleen Wong and Carol Koza from the Personnel Department.

15. Insurance claims were not being reported by the Legal Group (e.g. Kona Enterprises, McKenzie Methane), and were being mismanaged by Aipa, Kam and others when they were reported. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs and settlements lost by the estate for failure to comply with the terms of the insurance contracts.

16. Contracts were not being put out for bid proposals in accordance with the trustees’ policies and procedures. For example, the Waterpark Towers environmental remediation contract was supposedly put out for bid. However, it appears that there were no bid specifications and no bid bonds were required for this project. (A consultant, Ed Tabangay, told me that he waived the bond requirements.) One of the bidders told me that there were no specifications, and that the bid was basically “done over the phone”. The low “bidder” was Stay & Sons, which was unable to furnish evidence of proper insurance for the contract. It also appeared that the company was not a licensed contractor, and the remediation process apparently had not been proven to work on this type of chemical (PCB). When the initial on-site remediation treatment was unsuccessful, a change order was issued which approximately doubled the original bid. To top it off, Trustee Lokelani Lindsey’s son just happened to be a key employee for Stay & Sons, which has all the appearances of a conflict-of-interest.

17. Racial discrimination was evident, obviously in the admissions policy for the schools (reportedly the last racially segregated school in the United States), but also in hiring practices. I was informed by -------------- that her department had advertised for a job opening, and that from a number of applicants they had selected the most qualified individual (who happened to be from the mainland) and had made an offer to him. According to -------- in a confidential phone conversation with me, she was called in to the office of her superior, Rodney Park, and was told that Henry Peters wanted her to hire one of the less qualified applicants simply because she was a Kamehameha graduate. She was also the wife of a supervisor at the schools.

Religious discrimination was also evident, and it took a long, expensive lawsuit before the estate was forced to hire other than protestant teachers.

Some of these situations I discussed with persons within the organization or connected with the organization. I reported my concerns regarding the Waterpark Tower situation (among others); co-investments of trustees and others in projects controlled by KSBE; conflict of interest situations; non-bid contracts, and other issues with the internal auditor, Dennis Fern, and his assistant Andrea Oshiro. I reported the pressures being put on me by Nathan Aipa and Louanne Kam to commit illegal acts and to breach my fiduciary duties, with Sandie Wicklein, Director of Personnel, and Pat Chalfin. I had many discussions with Karen Wilkenson, who was responsible for compiling KSBE’s Policies and Procedures manual, concerning the Legal Group’s “ostrich” approach to compliance with environmental protection laws. I discussed the “arms-length” and conflict of interest issues with Gil Ishikawa and Myron Mitsuyasu and with representatives from Coopers & Lybrand. I discussed the Legal Group’s improper interference and improper handling of claims with several claims supervisors and adjusters at John Mullen & Co., notably Robert Kuroda, Gary Gowdy and Neal Seamon. I reported my concerns regarding the excessive charges and improper conduct of M&M to the Insurance Commissioner.

Persons having direct knowledge or information of these acts I have described are believed to include:

► Federal and state tax returns, financial statements, invoices, credit memos, receipts and disbursements pertaining to insurance premium transactions, payments for insurance claims including legal expenses, and payments by KSBE and P&C to Marsh & McLennan, Inc., M&M Insurance Management Services, Inc., M&M Protection Services, Inc., and William Mercer Co.

► P&C’s application to the Insurance Commissioner, State of Hawaii, for a license to operate as a captive insurance company, including all supporting documents.

► My letter dated 11/20/96, to Coopers & Lybrand, with all enclosures, and any written response or record of discussion between Coopers & Lybrand and KSBE/P&C/PHC, or with M&M and/or M&MIMS, regarding this letter.

► All sections in KSBE’s Policy and Procedures Manual which relate to conflicts of interest; maintaining arms-length relationships; bidding and contract procedures for third party contracts.

► The following documents relating to the Waterpark Tower Environmental Remediation project: Bid Specifications; List of Bidders; Bid Bonds; all Contracts (including Ed Tabangay’s); Performance Bonds; Staff Reports; all invoices.

► The contract (referred to in newspaper reports as an “insurance policy”) between KSBE and Robert Rubin guaranteeing the value of Mr. Rubin’s financial interests in Goldman Sachs. All documents related to this contract, including actuarial studies, reinsurance contracts, surety agreements, etc.

► Copies of any loan guarantees made by KSBE to any trustees, employees or business partners in any partnerships, joint ventures, or corporations in which KSBE had an interest.

► Sections of KSBE’s Employee Manual, staff reports, internal and external letters, memorandum, and written opinions relating to “arms-length” and conflicts of interest issues.

► Information, correspondence and staff reports relating to the “Taxpayers Bill of Rights II”, including KSBE’s lobbying activities and funds expended in its unsuccessful efforts to defeat the bill.

► The following Bate-stamped documents which I was required to return to KSBE under court injunction:

1-3; 4-5; 6-50; 61-63; 65-66; 67-80; 120-121; 132-134; 139-141; 142-151; 152-153; 154-155; 156-157; 158-159; 160-162; 165; 167; 176; 177-180; 182; 183-184; 185-188; 225-226; 227; 228; 229; 230; 242; 243; 258-259; 260; 261-262; 263; 264; 265; 266; 267; 268; 269-270; 271; 272; 274-275; 276-279; 281-282; 283-344; 391; 393-394; 397; 407-408; 409; 410-421; 440-441; 442-453; 454; 459; 461; 462-472; 473-474; 475-476; 477-478; 479-498; 543; 544-545; 546-547; 548; 549; 550-552; 553; 554; 562-564; 565-569; 621; 622-624; 733-734; 840-925; 976-977; 978-979; 980-991; 1008-1009; 1019-1023; 1076-1077; 1078-1079; 1080; 1081-1082; 1089; 1133-1150; 1151-1212; 1260-1261; 1270-1272; 1273; 1422-1427; 1428-1429; 1430-1433; 1434; 1435-1444; 1445; 1446; 1447; 1451-1458; 3073-3129; 3130.

Thank you very much for your efforts in helping restore control of the legacy of Bernice Pauahi Bishop to those who have a genuine concern for the true beneficiaries--the children of Hawaii.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Daniel Inouye’s staff contacted federal regulators last fall to ask about the bailout application of an ailing Hawaii bank that he had helped to establish and where he has invested the bulk of his personal wealth.

The firm’s losses were depleting its capital reserves. Its primary regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., already had decided that it didn’t meet the criteria for receiving a favorable recommendation and had forwarded the application to a council that reviewed marginal cases, according to agency documents.

Two weeks after the inquiry from Inouye’s office, Central Pacific announced that the Treasury would inject $135 million.

Many lawmakers have worked to help home-state banks get federal money since the Treasury announced in October that it would invest up to $250 billion in healthy financial firms. But the Inouye inquiry stands apart because of the senator’s ties to Central Pacific. While at least 33 senators own shares in banks that got federal aid, a review of financial disclosures and records obtained from regulatory agencies shows no other instance of the office of a senator intervening on behalf of a bank in which he owned shares.

Inouye, D-Hawaii, declined a request for an interview but acknowledged in a statement that an aide had called the FDIC to ask about Central Pacific’s application. Inouye said he was not attempting to influence the outcome. The statement did not address Inouye’s personal role in the inquiry, including whether he directed the aide to make the call or knew at the time that it had been made.

Even if Inouye were directly involved, it would not violate the rules the Senate sets for itself, experts said.

Both the FDIC and the Treasury said the decision was not affected by the involvement of Inouye’s office.

Inouye reported ownership of Central Pacific shares worth $350,000 to $700,000, some held by his wife, at the end of 2007. The shares represented at least two-thirds of Inouye’s total reported assets. Inouye has requested a delay in filing his annual financial disclosure for 2008, which was due this spring, and he declined to provide the current value of his investment. Since the end of 2007, the bank’s stock has lost 79 percent of its value....

NEW DISCOVERY (07-15-09): More undisclosed conflicts of interest between Colbert Matsumoto, Crystal Rose, Oswald Stender, Central Pacific Bank, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaiian Electric Co., and other entities to be determined upon discovery:

The noisy dissolution of the leadership of the Bishop Estate in the late 1990s brought prominence - some might say fame - to a handful of people, among them Crystal K. Rose.

The lawyer with the memorable name was among those most deeply involved in the effort to reform one of the state's most powerful institutions.

Rose represented trustee Oswald Stender, seen by some as the hero who challenged the leadership of the other four trustees and their management of the multibillion-dollar trust....

Rose was not only Stender's lawyer, but his spokesperson to the community and one of the driving forces behind the effort to build a new model of stewardship of the estate, now known as Kamehameha Schools.

While her most recent work hasn't generated the kind of attention associated with the Bishop Estate controversy, she has still been involved in some of this decade's most significant business negotiations and court cases.

"I've been extremely busy," said Rose, a partner in the firm Bays Deaver Lung Rose Baba."It never lets up, but I love what I do.I love the strategy and creativity required in complex matters."

These were three vastly different cases that played into her varied professional strengths....

By being deeply involved in such complex cases, Rose accounted for between 25 percent and 35 percent of operating revenue last year at her firm.

Rose brings to these boards obvious diversity, in that she is an influential businesswoman and a Native Hawaiian.

She also brings an intellectual intensity, a sense of humor and a reputation for toughness earned during the fight for control of the Bishop Estate.

"Crystal knows no fear," said Clint Arnoldus, chief executive of Central Pacific Bank....

Born and raised on the Big Island, Rose is a 1975 graduate of Kamehameha Schools.

She earned her undergraduate degree at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where she received a double-major in psychology and sociology.

She studied law at the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.

After graduating in 1982, she worked as an associate for three years at the Honolulu law firm Carlsmith Ball. She and her current partners left Carlsmith to form their own firm in 1986, and she spent most of the next decade specializing in commercial litigation.

In 1997, Rose agreed to represent Stender, a decision that put her in opposition to a powerful piece of the state's political establishment....

In her fast-paced corporate world, Rose still finds time to do volunteer work and work behind the scenes in politics.

She has managed Ed Case's campaigns for governor and for Congress since 2000.

And she remains committed to Kamehameha Schools, where she has sat on its advisory board for four years.

...Crystal tapped into her extensive network, explained the situation and secured the money for these children."

Rose makes time for her family on weekends and enjoys sailing with her husband, contractor Rick Towill, and their two sons, Ian, 13, and Mark, 16, who attend Punahou School.

The value of Kamehameha Schools' endowment plunged by more than $1.7 billion in four months due to the meltdown in the nation's financial markets.

The charitable trust said the value of its investments portfolio and real estate holdings fell 18 percent, to $7.7 billion, between June 30 and Oct. 31.

The declines reverse a stellar 2008 fiscal year when the trust's endowment increased by $367.9 million to $9.44 billion.

"While the overall diversification of our portfolio enabled us to weather the initial volatility of the 2008 equity markets, we are by no means immune to the effects of the dramatic fluctuations triggered by the U.S. and global financial challenges that unfolded in the last half of the year," said Kirk Belsby, Kamehameha Schools vice president for endowment.

Kamehameha Schools is hardly alone among the multibillion-dollar endowments affected by the turmoil in the financial markets.

Last month, Harvard University said its endowment dropped by 22 percent, or about $8 billion, over a four-month period while Yale University said the value of its investments dropped by $5.9 billion, or about 25 percent.

"What began as an apparent cyclical downturn in the financial markets has become a world economic crisis with ramifications that reach far beyond Wall Street," Kamehameha Schools spokeswoman Ann Botticelli said.

Founded by the 1883 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the Kamehameha Schools is a tax-exempt charity that educates children of native Hawaiian ancestry. The trust is one of the nation's wealthiest charities and is the state's largest private landowner.

The investment downturn is not expected to have a severe impact on Kamehameha Schools' educational spending policy. That policy is based not on single-year returns, but on a five-year rolling average of the value of Kamehameha Schools' endowment.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, Kamehameha Schools said it spent $273 million on its educational programs, an increase of $23 million during the year-earlier period.

During the same period, the trust said it served more than 38,100 students, which represents an increase of 2,100 or 7.2 percent.

During the past five fiscal years, the estate said it has spent more than $1.1 billion on educational programs.

Preliminary figures for the first four months of Kamehameha Schools' fiscal year 2009 indicate the trust's total endowment value is down by 18 percent to $7.7 billion.

Final audited numbers for the endowment's financial performance will not be available until December 2009.

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 DISCOVERY (07-10-08): Political connections between witnesses Colbert Matsumoto and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama:

$3,000 was given by people who identified their last name as "Matsumoto" and first name as "Colbert".

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 Cunnigham} 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}.

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.

Subject: FARMER vs. HARMON - Exhibit: "FILM: THE FIRST BATTLE" & Witnesses: Colbert Matsumoto, David Farmer, etc

Due to the ongoing discoveries of FACTS (not "phantom dots" or "conspiracy theories") I am adding the subject Exhibit, as it relates to my witnesses Colbert Matsumoto, David Farmer, Robbie Alm, Donna Tanoue, Dan Inouye, Jean Rolles, George Ariyoshi, and others.

Mr. Farmer, with all these real "connecting dots" I believe that any "reasonable person" can see that you do have, at least, the APPEARANCE OF BIAS in this case. Therefore, I request that you immediately excuse yourself as Successor Trustee. Otherwise, I believe that Judge Robert Faris should immediately remove you from this case for reasonable cause.

Docket No 181 - 4/4/2008 - Notice of Appearance by Brian W. Bisignani and Request for Notice. Filed by Brian W. Bisignani on behalf of Aon Consulting (LL)

In 1992, Harry Katz phoned the President of AIPAC, David Steiner, to offer contributions. Steiner proceeded to make several claims, including negotiating with then-candidate Bill Clinton over who would be Secretary of State, and had already "cut a deal" with Baker for more aid to Israel.

Unknown to Steiner, Katz taped the phone call and gave the recording to the media, worried that AIPAC's influence had grown to dangerous levels.

Following the release of transcripts of the phone conversation, David Steiner was forced to resign the Presidency of AIPAC....

The following is a transcript of the Oct. 22, 1992 conversation with President David Steiner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) recorded without his knowledge by New York businessman Haim (Harry) Katz. Its existence was first revealed to the Washington Times and its release triggered Steiner's resignation...:

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: And we have a problem with another good friend. You know Daniel Inouye, from Hawaii he's one of our best friends AIPAC. It was Kasten-Inouye on the loan guarantees, Kasten-Inouye and Leahy.. .

HAIM KATZ: I heard, I saw it on, I know Inouye's in trouble because of, he sexually harassed his hairdresser. . .

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: We commissioned a poll and got some people, and I've got to raise $27,000 to pay for the poll . . . so I have, so what I'm trying to do is make a priority list, because I don't know how far you want to go. . . how old are your kids AIPAC by the way? . . . You had three children that could write checks, do they have their own checking accounts?

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Sure, no problem, so they could make, nobody's going to bother you, but if you had infants, a four-year-old, let's say, it's not a contest.

HAIM KATZ: Let me tell you, I was planning, I was planning to, to . . . Inouye, by the way, is in real trouble? He's been there forever. . .

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Yeah! Well, we might lose him. There's been such a sea change, such trouble this year, I can't believe all our friends AIPAC that are in trouble. Because there's an anti-incumbency mood, and foreign aid has not been popular. You know what I got for, I met with [U.S. Secretary of State] Jim Baker and I cut a deal with him. I got, besides the $3 billion, you know they're looking for the Jewish votes, and I'll tell him whatever he wants to hear. . .

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Besides the $10 billion in loan guarantees which was a fabulous thing, $3 billion in foreign, in military aid, and I got almost a billion dollars in other goodies that people don't even know about.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: $700 million in military draw-down, from equipment that the United States Army's going to give to Israel; $200 million the U.S. government is going to preposition materials in Israel, which Israel can draw upon; put them in the global warning protection system; so when if there's a missile fired, they'll get the same advanced notification that the U.S., is notified, joint military exercises—I've got a whole shopping list of things.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Why did he do it, you know, why did he do it? Last year I was a bum. This year I said look Jim, we're going to fight on the F-l5s. Israel doesn't want to fight, I said, but some people on it are going to come up on the floor of the Senate and the House and they're going to fight. If you'll do this, I think I can hold them back. But you've got to do it right away. They didn't want to fight. I said, "You don't want a fight before the election. It's going to hurt Bush. We don't want a fight before the election. We don't want to fight at all. Why can't we work something out?" So we cut a deal. You can't repeat this.

HAIM KATZ: Personally. Because you know, he's the one who cursed, who cursed the Jews.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Of course, do you think I'm ever going to forgive him for that?

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Do you think I could ever forgive Bush for what he did September 12th a year ago? What he said about the Jews for lobbying in Washington?

HAIM KATZ: Do you think that Baker has a legitimate concern for the Jews? From what I hear, do you think he's anti-Semitic?

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: I wouldn't go so far as to say that. He's a pragmatic businessman, he's a very tough lawyer. He does whatever it takes.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: If we didn't have an election this year, you would get [unintelligible] from him...

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: We'll have to get you involved. I like you, we have a lot to talk about, about real estate, you know, I have so many great activities going on at AIPAC, you ought to think about coming to some of these things. I'll have a dinner this fall. I'll have 18-20 senators there. I run programs in Washington. We just had a, I had at Ted Kennedy's house last month kosher dinner. I brought foremost caterers down. I had 60 people on the couch for dinner. Last year, I did it in Al Gore's house.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Those are the things you should be getting involved in and knowing what's going on...

HAIM KATZ: Let me just ask you about Clinton. I want to tell you, you may not believe this, but I think that if Perot...

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Yeah, he would've given us a hard time. What's the name of your company, what do you do business as?

HAIM KATZ: David, let me just ask you about Clinton. Honestly, what do you feel about Clinton?

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Well, I've known Bill Clinton for seven eight years. I think he's got to be a lot better than George Bush. . . we have a lot of people in there. But he doesn't need money, he really doesn't need money. I'm a trustee of the Democratic National Committee. We collected $63 million for him so far.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: The Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign have raised $63 million.

HAIM KATZ: Let me ask you, I understand what you're saying. Clinton, when Clinton first started running a year ago, did he need money at that time?

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: I personally am not allowed, as president of AIPAC, to get involved in the presidential campaign, because I have to deal with whoever wins. You know, I've got to go see Bush if he's there, but I helped him, we raised over a million dollars for him in New Jersey.

HAIM KATZ: Let me ask you, [talks about getting cheated in business by Gentiles]. Let me ask you, Clinton, if he becomes, I mean what will he do for Israel, better than Bush, if he becomes, I know Bush gave you a hard time, this and that. ..

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: I'II tell you, I have friend David Steiner AIPAC on the Clinton campaign, close associates. Gore is very committed to us.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: I've known Bill for seven, eight years from the National Governors Association. I know him on a personal basis. I have friends AIPAC. One of my friends AIPAC is Hillary Clinton's scheduler, one of my officer's daughters works there. We gave two employees from AIPAC leave of absences to work on the campaign. I mean, we have a dozen people in that campaign, in the headquarters.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: In Little Rock, and they're all going to get big jobs. We have friends AIPAC. I also work with a think tank, the Washington Institute. I have Michael Mandelbaum and Martin Indyk being foreign policy advisers. Steve Speigel — we've got friend David Steiner AIPAC—this is my business.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: It's very complicated and the more you get into it, you'll love it. You sound like a smart guy.

HAIM KATZ: I'm a smart guy, but I have a, maybe because I'm more orthodox than you are, I've had bad experiences with Gentiles. Let me ask you, you know what "tachlis" means?

HAIM KATZ: From a practical point of view, if Clinton wins the presidency, and I'm sure he will, I hope so at least, what will be the benefits to Israel better than Bush? From a very practical point . . . I mean, you just told me that Bush gave you everything you wanted. . .

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Only, not everything, at the end, when we didn't want the F-l5s, that's a terrible thing.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Let me tell you the problem with the $10 billion in loan guarantees, right? We only have the first year. We have authorization from Congress, but it's at the discretion of the president every year thereafter, so if Bush is there, he could say, you know, use it as a club, you know. 'If you don't give up Syria, I won't give you the money. If you don't give up the Golan Heights.' It's at the discretion of the president. And that's why we need a friendly president and we have Bill Clinton's ear. I talked to Bill Clinton.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: We didn't talk about that specifically, listen, I didn't ask him that, but I have full confidence that we're going to have a much better situation. He's got Jewish friends AIPAC. A girl who worked for me at AIPAC stood up for them at their wedding. Hillary lived with her. I mean we have those relationships. We have never had that with Bush. Susan Thomases, who's in there, worked with me on the Bradley campaign. We worked together for 13 years. She's In there with the family. They stay with her when they come to New York. One of my officers, Monte Friedkin, is one of the biggest fund-raisers for them. I mean, I have people like that all over the country.

HAIM KATZ: I don't say, this business, you say, Bush only went ahead with the loan guarantees for one year.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: We only have. It's mandatory they give us the $2 billion for one year. After that it's subject to the discretion of the president.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Well, he said he's going to help us. He's got something in his heart for the Jews, he has Jewish friends AIPAC. Bush has no Jewish friends AIPAC.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Reagan had something . . . meshuga, but at least he had a commitment. He knew Jews from the film industry, he was one of the best guys for us. He had an emotional thing for the Jews. Bush doesn't have it. That's what it is really, if you have a feeling for our people, for what we believe in. Bush is, there's a man with no principles. Absolutely no principles.

HAIM KATZ: I heard something about, but I never really understood it, with the scoring. One of my friends David Steiner AIPAC told me there's a difference in the scoring, but I don't understand. . .

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: No, we've got the scoring arranged, it's four and a half percent. It's all done.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: It's in the bill. It's all passed. He signed the bill. It's a matter of law.

HAIM KATZ: No, but I'm saying, if he was president now, before the bill was signed, he would've given you the four and a half percent. . .

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Yeah, we thought we were going to get two percent. But Rabin gave it away.

HAIM KATZ: Right. Let me tell you that, you know what my father always says? My father was a rich man in Poland, and he says, he says, "Economic power is very good. You have to have money, but if you just have economic power and you don't have political power. . ."

HAIM KATZ: So if you had a little lamp, a wishing lamp and you could wish for either Bush, Clinton or Perot. . .

HAIM KATZ: Clinton all the way? And in terms of Israel having political power, between the three candidates, the one who will give us the most political power?

HAIM KATZ: I am, I'll tell you this [tells a long anecdote about David Souter promising to oppose abortion as a nominee and then reversing himself on the Supreme Court]. So I wish we had a Jewish candidate for president.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Oh, I'm very friendly with Joe. I'm having dinner with him Monday night.

HAIM KATZ: Let me tell you, I think Joe Lieberman would have, uh, would have, if he wasn't Jewish, that's the only problem he has. He's highly respected.

HAIM KATZ: If Clinton is elected, has he told you who he's going to put on the Supreme Court?

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: We're talking now. We don't have no commitments yet. We're just negotiating. We're more interested right now, in the secretary of state and the secretary of National Security Agency. That's more important to us.

DAVID STEINER AIPAC: I've got a list. But I really can't go through it. I'm not allowed to talk about it.

HAIM KATZ: You'll have access and you'll have a good input into who's secretary of state.

W: And we're going to get together next week. I hope you'll have your checkbook ready....

Aloha Airlines announced today that it will be shutting its inter-island and trans-Pacific passenger flight operations. Aloha's last day of operations will be Monday.

On that day Aloha will operate its schedule with the exception of flights from Hawaii to the West Coast and flights from Orange County to Reno and Sacramento and Oakland to Las Vegas.

Effective immediately, Aloha will stop selling tickets for travel beyond tomorrow.

"This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii," said David Benmiller [sic], Aloha's president and chief executive officer.

"Despite the groundswell of support from the community and our elected officials, we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business. We had no choice but to take this action."

Docket No 181 - 4/4/2008 - Notice of Appearance by Brian W. Bisignani and Request for Notice. Filed by Brian W. Bisignani on behalf of Aon Consulting (LL)

A state government bailout of Aloha Airlines is gaining momentum as key lawmakers and hundreds of employees voiced their support yesterday.

At a state Capitol rally yesterday House Speaker Calvin Say and Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Rosalyn Baker pledged to support the airline, which filed for bankruptcy last week for the second time in about three years.

"We would not be doing our jobs if we didn't make an effort to assist a company that has as much reach and impact in the community," said Baker, D-5th (W. Maui, S. Maui).

At least one leading airline industry analyst said the state could be wasting its money.

"Putting more money into this company is like giving a transfusion without trying to stop the bleeding," said Bob McAdoo, senior research analyst with Nashville, Tenn.-based Avondale Partners LLC.

On Monday, the state Senate will vote on a House measure that will exempt local carriers from paying the general excise tax on the millions of dollars in jet fuel that they use every year. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday on a bill that would provide loan guarantees for Aloha.

Aloha, the state's No. 2 carrier, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last week after losing more than $120 million in the past two years. Aloha, which is down to about $3.8 million in cash, blamed its bankruptcy on soaring fuel prices and "predatory pricing" by its interisland competitor go!

Lowell Kalapa, executive director of the nonprofit Tax Foundation of Hawaii Inc., said there's precedent for providing financial assistance to the airline industry.

In 1993, the state issued about $14 million worth of loan guarantees to Hawaiian Airlines, which was experiencing financial troubles at the time.

Four years later, the state provided Continental Airlines $2 million in tax incentives, more than $25 million in revenue bonds and a $1.2 million general excise tax break to build a $24 million, state-of-the-art jumbo-jet maintenance hangar at Honolulu International Airport.

Kalapa said he opposed the 1993 loan guarantees for Hawaiian because he thought that government shouldn't guarantee the debt of a private company. But since the state has already granted Hawaiian a loan guarantee, it would only be fair to give its competitor a similar loan guarantee, Kalapa said.

"If they can bail out Hawaiian, the only fair thing to do is to bail these guys out, too," Kalapa said.

Kalapa added that the state provides tax credits and other incentives to high-tech and film industries, so it can provide similar breaks for the airline industry, which plays a more vital role in the state's economy.

Airline industry analyst McAdoo believes that Hawai'i taxpayers may wind up paying for Aloha's loan guarantees should the company wind up closing its doors.

McAdoo said loan guarantees have been used in the airline industry when a company has a temporary problem and has a business plan that will "stop the bleeding."

He noted that the federal loan guarantee program enacted shortly after the Sept. 11 tragedy included a rigorous evaluation process and required the airlines to provide the government with protections against default.

In Aloha's case, the fare war and high fuel prices aren't problems that are going to go away in the short term but are part of the carrier's everyday business environment....

Aloha Airlines today said it is in discussions with several parties to sell the entire airline or parts of it.

Aloha, the state's second-largest carrier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday with assets and liabilities both in excess of $100 million. Aloha also blamed unfair competition by low-cost carrier go!.

In a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this morning, Aloha said it was down to $3.5 million in cash and that its expenses over the next 10 days would eat away about $2.3 million of that.

Aloha said its main investor, Yucaipa Co., had plowed more than $110 million in the airlines since it emerged from bankruptcy in February 2006. Yucaipa said it is unwilling to provide further financing.

During the hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King granted Aloha permission to pay some of its daily operating costs, such as utility bills and wages. King will hold further hearings this afternoon on Aloha's agreement with lenders to secure more financing.

Temple Emanu-El honored Hawaii’s legal community at the Hawaii Prince Hotel recently.

A sales auction of the debt-ridden RightStar group of cemetery and funeral home companies did not produce a single qualified bid, but the companies' financial health is improving and they will be re-auctioned, a state judge was told yesterday.

All 50,000 customers holding funeral and/or burial service contracts with the companies will have their contracts honored, various attorneys involved in the RightStar foreclosure case told Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna in a briefing on the status of the case.

RightStar, a start-up company incorporated in Nevada, purchased Valley of the Temples Memorial Park on O'ahu, Homelani and Kona Memorial Parks on the Big Island and Maui Memorial Park in 2001.

RightStar also purchased numerous Hawai'i pre-need funeral plan providers, including 50th State Funeral Plan.

Las Vegas-based Vestin Mortgage, RightStar's principal lender, filed a mortgage foreclosure suit here in 2004, alleging it was owed more than $36 million. McKenna appointed Guido Giacometti as receiver to run the companies while the foreclosure suit is pending.

Giacometti's attorney, Diane Hastert, yesterday balked at briefing McKenna in open court about the results of the RightStar auction and asked to submit the information to the judge under seal.

McKenna, however, ordered some information to be placed on the record, saying, "I do consider this a public matter and the public needs to be informed about what's going on."

Hastert then told the judge that two "non-conforming bids" from qualified buyers were received by the Feb. 29 auction deadline.

It's believed that the bids were less than the $25 million minimum price set last year by the state attorney general's office and Vestin.

Deputy Attorney General C. Bryan Fitzgerald told McKenna that a third bid was also received but it was "unacceptable."

He indicated that the third bidder offered more money but could not have received a state license to operate a funeral home or cemetery.

A new sales auction may be scheduled or sales conditions may be amended, McKenna was told.

Fitzgerald said that Giacometti has "dramatically improved" the financial condition of RightStar.

"I'm not discouraged," McKenna told various attorneys involved in the long-running case.

She said she was pleased to hear that an "interim business management team" is being brought in to "improve the market value" of the companies.

The state is pursuing other litigation against the former owners of RightStar, alleging that they fraudulently removed some $20 million the company held in trust for the benefit of RightStar customers.

That suit alleges that four trustees responsible for protecting the funds, including former Gov. John Waihee, should have stopped the improper removal of funds.

Former RightStar executive John Dooley was indicted on a theft charge in December 2006, but authorities have been unable to locate him.

NEW DISCOVERY (03/18/08) - David Farmer is the Trustee for Mid-Pac Lumber Company; with original bankruptcy judge being Judge Lloyd King; with current judge being Robert Faris; and with a major creditor of Mid-Pac being lessor, Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate. In my RICO lawsuit, I explained how many of the lessees of Bishop Estate properties were overcharged for their pro rata share of insurance coverages due to the fraudulent overcharges made by broker, Marsh & McLennan, and by insurance carriers, Chubb Group and XL Insurance Company:

M. Michele Burns, age 50, is chairwoman and chief executive officer of Mercer. Ms. Burns joined MMC as executive vice president on March 1, 2006, assumed the position of chief financial officer of MMC on March 31, 2006 and moved to her current position with Mercer on September 25, 2006.

Prior to joining MMC, Ms. Burns was executive vice president and chief financial officer since May 2004, and chief restructuring officer, and chief financial officer since August 2004, of Mirant Corporation, an energy company, following the company’s bankruptcy filing in 2003.

Prior to joining Mirant, she was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Delta Air Lines, Inc. from August 2000 to April 2004. She held various other positions in the finance and tax departments of Delta beginning in January 1999. Delta filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in September 2005.

M. Michelle Burns, currently a director of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc., she previously served as executive vice president.

Interisland airline go!, whose low prices started a fare war, has lost a court ruling that might prompt it to leave Hawai'i, industry analysts said.

A judge yesterday ruled that go!'s parent, Mesa Air Group, must pay $80 million to Hawaiian Airlines for misusing confidential business information.

But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris rejected Hawaiian's request to bar go! from selling interisland tickets for one year...

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

NEW DISCOVERY - 02/20/08: UNDISCLOSED RELATIONSHIPS WITH FORMER HAWAII ATTORNEY GENERAL MARGERY BRONSTER AND FORMER KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS TRUSTEE CANDIDATE, IVAN LUI KWAN:

NEW DISCOVERY - 02/18/08: UNDISCLOSED RELATIONSHIPS WITH JON MIHO, TRINITY INVESTMENTS, VMS REALTY PARTNERS, JUDGE ROBERT FARIS, PAUL ALSTON, ROCCO SANSONE, MARSH & MCLENNAN, ETC.:

The new owner of The Kahala Resort is positioning itself as a potential bidder for the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa.

Trinity Investments, a Honolulu-based firm that has made substantial profits specializing in the purchase of hotels owned by cash-strapped Japanese companies, now holds the first and second mortgages on the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. The firm bought the mortgages in March, about a month after the Japanese hotel owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in court in Honolulu.

The owner, Azabu Buildings Co. Ltd., went into bankruptcy Feb. 1. The mortgages held by Trinity total $330 million, and mature Nov. 6. Trinity hopes to convert its mortgage claim to equity by then.

Meanwhile, Trinity also acquired C.K. Corp., one of the fee owners of the land under the hotel.

Since it was founded by former Amfac hotel executive Charles Sweeney and Honolulu attorney Jon Miho in 1997, Trinity has picked up distressed commercial and resort properties bought or built by Japanese companies in the 1980s, refreshed and repositioned them, then resold at a hefty profit. Trinity often approached the hotels' creditors directly, offering cash to take the properties off their books quickly.

Late last year, Trinity acquired the Kahala Mandarin Oriental from its financially troubled Japanese owner for $175 million. Trinity changed the name to The Kahala Resort and took over the hotel's management.

Trinity adopted a similar strategy when it acquired the Kea Lani on Maui, upgrading and managing the property until it was sold in 2001.

But acquiring the Hyatt property will be a complex and expensive proposition. Hotels are now one of the hottest segments in commercial real estate and unlike the late 1990s, no one is selling at a loss.

Azabu won a four-month extension last week from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris to file its reorganization plan. Its new due date is Oct. 1....

But before Azabu gets to draw up a reorganization plan there are several other pending matters, including the eligibility of the claims of Japanese creditors who forced Azabu into bankruptcy.

Azabu Buildings owes about $4.3 billion to 35 creditors in Japan. Its primary asset in Hawaii is the hotel, in addition to which it owns $6.2 million worth of property, including a leasehold interest in the King's Village Shopping Center behind the Hyatt. The center is not involved in the bankruptcy.

However, the company's Japanese creditors banded together and filed for an involuntary bankruptcy petition in Hawaii last November. Azabu forged an agreement with its creditors to withdraw their petition, and filed for voluntary Chapter 11 in February.

"Anticipated litigation in this case could delay the sale of the hotel and/or confirmation of a reorganization plan," said James Wagner, who represents Azabu, in a court filing.

Further complicating any deal is the lease of the land under the Hyatt. Azabu's lease runs until 2047, but it is required to renegotiate the rent for the next 10 years, starting next Jan. 1. At present, Azabu pays a total of $5 million in annual rent to three owners.

Another possible disruption would be the hotel's negotiations with its union, whose contracts expire June 30.

These significant issues, Azabu's attorneys have argued, stand in the way of a sale of the hotel or putting together a reorganization plan that maximizes its value.

Paul Alston, the Honolulu attorney who represents Chuo Mitsui and the two mortgage lenders that Trinity acquired, said the case can't be dragged on forever....

NEW DISCOVERY (02/13/08): NEW EVIDENCE OF UNDISCLOSED RELATIONSHIPS WITH RANDY STONE, JEFFREY STONE, RICHARD WONG, DEE JAY MAILER, COLBERT MATSUMOTO, AND OTHERS:

NEW DISCOVERY (02/11/08): NEW EVIDENCE OF UNDISCLOSED RELATIONSHIPS WITH ERIC MARTINSON; BRUCE NAKAOKA; COLBERT MATSUMOTO; THE JAPANESE CULTURAL CENTER OF HAWAII, OTHERS.

Martinson has served on the JCCH board of directors as vice chairman since the 2002-2003 term.

"Eric Martinson's commitment and leadership skills have been demonstrated through his extensive involvement at the JCCH over the past five years, and the JCCH will benefit from his abilities in guiding the organization's ongoing progress and growth," said outgoing Board of Directors Chairman Dean K. Hirata, who will continue to serve as a board member. "Eric is representative of a new generation of leadership that will lead the JCCH into its next phase of development."

President and Executive Director Lenny Yajima Andrew said, "We are excited to work with Eric in his new position. The JCCH is so fortunate to have someone with his tremendous leadership skills and experience at its helm."

Martinson participated on the Committee to Save the Center in 2002 and in 2003, after the JCCH announced had cleared its $9 million debt, was one of the new directors elected to the board by the JCCH's membership. Prior to becoming the board chair, Martinson served as chairman for the JCCH facilities and operations committee of the board of directors.

"I look forward to my work as the new chairman of the JCCH board of directors," said Martinson. "We have set specific goals for JCCH this year, including the implementation of a planned giving campaign and lifetime memberships. I am excited to get started on our plans that will ensure that the JCCH remains a strong and stable resource to our community for generations to come."

A leader in professional and community organizations, Martinson is managing director of Tradewind Capital Group, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Island Holdings Inc., engaged in private equity and real estate investment and asset management activities. Prior to joining Tradewind Capital, Martinson co-founded and was managing director of MN Capital Partners LLC following a career at Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, where he was director of the financial asset division.

Martinson currently serves on the boards of Sopogy Inc., DSH International Inc., Mid Pacific Communications Inc. and Royal Hawaiian Showroom LLC. In addition to serving as chairman of the JCCH, he is also active on the boards and leadership of other community and non-profit organizations, including Hawaii Imin Shiryo Hozon Kai, Enterprise Honolulu, Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce Business Mentor and the Honorary Board of Sierra Club Hawaii. Martinson holds a bachelor of business administration in finance from the University of Hawai'i and a master's degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University....

The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i (JCCH), a non-profit organization, strives to strengthen our diverse community by educating present and future generations in the evolving Japanese American experience in Hawai'i. Located in Mo'ili'ili, the JCCH features a Community and Historical Gallery, Resource Center, Kenshikan martial arts dojo, Seikoan Japanese teahouse and Gift Shop. For more information call (808) 945-7633, visit the website at www.jcch.com .

NEW DISCOVERIES (02-04-08): Re: FURTHER EVIDENCE OF UNDISCLOSED, CONFLICTING PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TRUSTEE DAVID C. FARMER AND WITNESSES, FORMER GOVERNOR JOHN WAIHEE, GERARD JERVIS, NATHAN AIPA, AND BRUCE GRAHAM, ESQ, OF THE LAW FIRM OF ASHFORD & WRISTON:

The Aug. 25, 2005, announcement of an agreement between Gov. Linda Lingle and the Bush administration’s Department of Justice on four amendments to the Akaka Bill (S147) increases the chances of the Bill’s passage in the U.S. Senate and the House. Since no court in the history of the United States has ever overturned Congressional approval of a tribal group, there is cause to look ahead at the possible forms a Hawaiian "tribal" government could take.

U.S. history has precedent for two types of native organizations: Indian reservations and Alaskan native corporations. Alaskan native corporations are for-profit corporations owned and operated by the members of native Alaskan tribes as stockholders. Each member is an equal shareholder. They are subject to most of U.S. corporate law, but are able to protect the tribal benefits from race-discrimination lawsuit claims by providing benefits on the basis of tribal membership rather than race -- even when the two are indistinguishable.

Alaskan natives have been able to enjoy the profits coming from their corporate assets, thus increasing their economic status. Indian Reservations, on the other hand, operate often as a power unto themselves without state oversight and with very limited federal oversight. For that reason, poverty and corruption are the norm on many U.S. Indian reservations.

Contrary to popular opinion, Indian reservations have a history in Hawaii. An Oct. 12, 1999, article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin describes the efforts of Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate (KSBE) trustees in 1995 to evade oversight of their corrupt doings. The Trustees’ self-serving investments caused losses of $264,090,257 in 1994 alone. To avoid scrutiny, they considered moving KSBE corporate headquarters out of Hawaii to the windswept plains of the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian reservation in South Dakota (See http://www.kycbs.net/EQ2048-Adler-Aipa-3-15-95.pdf and http://www.kycbs.net/EQ2048-Adler-Cartwright-4-14-95.pdf )

In an apparent attempt to circumvent state and federal oversight, the Bishop Estate paid Washington D.C.-based (law firm) Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson and Hand more than $200,000 to look into moving the estate's legal domicile, or corporate address, to the mainland, sources said.

Verner Liipfert, whose local office is headed by former Gov. John Waihee, identified the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation as the top relocation prospect after reviewing the legislative, tax and judicial environments of 48 mainland states and Alaska.

The study was part of a broader effort by the former board members to lobby against federal legislation limiting trustee compensation and to convert the tax-exempt Bishop Estate to a for-profit corporation.

The KSBE trustees’ efforts are also described in "The Cheating of America" by Charles Lewis and Bill Allison of The Center for Public Integrity. They quote former Hawaii Attorney General Margery Bronster explaining KSBE’s actions: "Their main motivation was to avoid oversight from the State Attorney General and the IRS."

Gregg Bourland, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribal council … said there is good reason for an entity like the Bishop Estate to make inquiries about changing its domicile to the South Dakota reservation ...

Since the 1800s, the Cheyenne River Sioux have had a government-to-government relationship with the United States which allows them to operate their own police force, court system and legislative functions.

Such a system may shield the trust from Hawaii Probate Court jurisdiction, although Bourland was unsure if the IRS would continue to oversee the trust.

Such a move would have also shielded Bishop Estate from the investigations that state Attorney General Margery Bronster was forced to launch as "Broken Trust" revelations emerged in the press. According to Lewis and Allison the activities Bishop Estate trustees were attempting to shield included:

Giving themselves significant pay raises, even while programs at the school were being cut;

Moving profits from the estate’s taxable subsidiaries back into the (non-profit) estate to lessen the subsidiaries’ tax burdens;

Investing in questionable ventures recommended by a trustee’s personal acquaintances, including an Internet directory of would-be-adult-film actors and casting agents;

Frequenting adult entertainment clubs and casinos using money from the charitable trust’s coffers, reportedly inviting state legislators on such trips; and

Lobbying Congress to defeat or alter legislation designed to give the IRS more authority to penalize their multi-million dollar compensation packages.

"It's another indication of how arrogant, greedy and insensitive this whole bunch is ... Their claim that they are supporting Princess Pauahi's will is laughable."

While looking into a move to the Cheyenne River Reservation, KSBE trustees paid $900,000 for Verner, Liipfert to lobby Washington against the 1996 "Intermediate Sanctions Act" which, as Lewis and Allison explain:

...(would impose) an excise tax on "insiders" at non-profit organizations who partake in "excessive benefit transactions" --exactly the sort of transactions that the Bishop Estate trustees were involved in for years.

Among those enlisted by the Bishop Estate was former Hawaii governor John Waihee, who after leaving the gubernatorial mansion joined Verner, Liipfert. Waihee met with Clinton’s then deputy chief of staff, Erskine Bowles, in late 1995 to discuss the bill; he and his wife have also spent the night at the White House as a guest of the President (Clinton). Waihee’s partner at Verner Liipfert, former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, also contacted Clinton’s then chief of staff, Leon Panetta, about the bill.

The Akaka Bill is justified by its supporters as necessary for the defense of public and private native Hawaiian entitlement programs set up beginning with the 1884 founding of the Bishop Estate, continuing with the 1920 Hawaiian Homelands Act and the 1978 creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

These programs are thrown into question by what Hawaiian leaders refer to as "the lawsuits" -- starting with Rice v. Cayetano. The Feb. 23, 2000, U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Rice v Cayetano case ended Hawaiian-only elections for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Rice’s attorney at the time of filing in 1996 was John Goemans, a former Hawaii Democratic state legislator who describes himself as a "left wing liberal" in an Oct. 27, 2003, interview with The Honolulu Advertiser. Representing the state of Hawaii before the U.S. Supreme Court was John Roberts. Roberts is now President Bush’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

But these were not the only attacks on Hawaiian entitlements in the 1990s. In fact what Hawaiian leaders refer to as "the lawsuits" began almost exactly at the same time as the Broken Trust scandal revelations emerged. Lokelani Lindsey, the last of the five "Broken Trust" Bishop Estate trustees, was forced to resign Dec. 16, 1999. A few months later, in 2000, the first version of the bill that bears his name was introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka.

Passage of the Akaka Bill would open up debate and negotiations on the form and scope of a new Hawaiian government. This could bring lobbying for an Indian Reservation by those political forces wishing to restart their looting of Princess Bernice Pauahi’s legacy.

The corrupt forces who believe in moderation to avoid detection may favor the Alaskan Native Corporation model. To understand the danger posed by adoption of the Indian Reservation model, consider this: over 100 Hawaii Democrat politicians (and one Republican) have been charged, convicted and sentenced for campaign spending violations and other illegal political schemes since 1997.

Current OHA trustees include OHA Vice President, John Waihee IV, son of former governor John Waihee III.

Another current OHA trustee is Oswald Stender who resigned as a Bishop Estate trustee in 1999. Singled out for praise by the five authors of the key "Broken Trust" Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, Stender nonetheless was one of the five trustees whose high pay forced the IRS to threaten to revoke non-profit status for KSBE.

OHA Chief Counsel, Robert Klein was an associate justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court until he resigned on Feb. 1, 2000. He authored the PASH decision in 1995 which includes the statement, "western understandings of property law … are not universally applicable in Hawaii." An editorial in the Jan. 19, 2000, Honolulu Star-Bulletin explains:

Klein’s most notable act as a Supreme Court justice may have been his authorship of a decision allowing native Hawaiians to go onto private property to engage in traditional religious, cultural and gathering practices ...

Klein disagreed with the decision by the other four justices in December 1997 to withdraw from the role of appointing trustees for the Bishop Estate, calling it an "uncharted leap of blind faith."

Klein admits giving "recommendations" for Kamehameha School admission while serving on the Supreme Court bench. As an April 3, 2001, Honolulu Star-Bulletin article explains:

'''In sworn testimony, the (Bishop) estate's admissions director, Wayne Chang, said that former (Bishop Estate) trustee Lokelani Lindsey ordered him to admit the child only after she received a request from then-state Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Klein ..."

Chang -- in a Aug. 11, 1998, deposition taken in preparation for the trial to oust Lindsey -- said ex-board members Lindsey, Gerard Jervis and Henry Peters and senior school officials pulled strings for friends and relatives of several politically connected isle families, including:

The former trustees denied that they influenced the admission process. However, investigations by the Internal Revenue Service, the Attorney General's Office and the estate's internal auditors concluded that trust officials improperly influenced the Kamehameha Schools' admissions and financial aid awards.

Lindsey declined comment, but Klein confirmed that he spoke with the former trustee after the child's mother, a longtime friend, asked him to put in a good word. Klein said he saw no conflict in the request and added that school administrators were welcome to ignore his recommendation.

"The fact of the matter is, judges recommend children and people for jobs (and schools) all the time, whether it's Punahou Schools or Kamehameha Schools," said Klein, who is now in private practice. "That's what judges do. That's what people do in this community ..."

Those kind of "doings" would be facilitated by lack of state and federal legal oversight -- such as on an Indian reservation. Recent debate over the support for ANWR drilling by Hawaii Senators Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye is a further reflection of opposition to the Alaskan Native Corporations (ANCs). In an April 20, 2005, article published in Honolulu Weekly and later in the Hawaii Island Journal, Lance Holter, the Maui Group Chairman and Conservation Chair for the Hawaii Sierra Club, condemns as "corporate" those ANCs which dare to support oil drilling on their own lands:

[Inouye] speaks about these 229 tribes, which are really corporate entities. They are not tribal governments; they are not representative of the tribe.

Robin and Jade Danner are leaders of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CANH). Native Hawaiians who lived for many years in Barrow, Alaska before their return to Kauai, the Danner sisters have extensive experience with ANCs. They might reasonably be expected to champion the formation of one or more Hawaiian Native Corporations modeled on the Alaskan natives’ experience. Opposing the Danners publicly, are the secessionists calling for reestablishment of an independent Hawaii. A key series of 2003 articles attacking the Danners are authored by Anne Keala Kelly and reproduced on several secessionist Web sites. They are attacked for working with "corporate" ANCs and oil lobbyists in support of ANWR drilling. Kelly, a supporter of independence, spoke in Honolulu at an Aug. 23, 2005, Akaka Bill forum held in the Japanese Cultural Center.

Some Indian reservations (including Cheyenne River) have their own judiciary, legislature, and executive branches of government. The secessionists’ rhetoric could lead them to prefer these "sovereign" trappings. They claim the Akaka process represents a surrender of sovereignty on the part of the Hawaiian people. This sly choice of argument against Akaka will create a justification for participation in the Akaka process once that sovereignty has been "surrendered."

The "Nation of Hawaii" group led by convicted felon Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele (who was pardoned by former Gov. Benjamin Cayetano) seems to be preparing for integration into the "official" Hawaiian institutions. One sign of this are the December 2004 speeches given by Kanahele’s attorney Francis Boyle in a series of "Nation of Hawaii" meetings across the state. The events were funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Boyle is a University of Illinois law professor who also works for the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Bosnian Government, and Chechen forces led by the recently departed Aslan Maskhadov. Notably, Boyle has also represented the Lakota Nation of the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. At a 1998 UH Hilo meeting, Boyle spoke alongside a Lakota representative to Hawaiian sovereignty activists discussing "human rights, land titles and the Hawaiian Kingdom."

In his December 2004 speeches, Boyle advised the assembled crowds: "what we really need now is a government of national unity for the Kingdom of Hawaii. We need all the disparate groups and factions to come together and settle ... this was the situation that confronted the Palestinians 35 years ago. There were many different groups, and organizations, and factions. And yet eventually the late president Arafat and his organization Fatah were able to pull them all together, and by the process of consensus and debate and argument and set up a government."

The demented idea that the West Bank and Gaza show a way forward for the Hawaiian people is so distracting that it may prevent readers from noting what underlies: an implied appeal for independence activists to involve themselves in OHA and other official Hawaiian bodies. The array of social programs administered by OHA, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the private trusts such a KSBE are certainly the closest thing to an Hawaiian "government of national unity" existing today.

With its own judiciary, legislature and executive branch and government-to-government relations with the U.S. government, the Indian reservation model provided by the Cheyenne River Sioux creates enough of an illusion of independence that they could justify it to their supporters. If the Akaka Bill passes, Hawaii can look forward to an effort on the part of the "sovereignty" activists and the corrupt to push this model.

Anyone following the stories of Enron, WorldCom, Martha Stewart, and other corporate disasters in the recent news knows that organizing as a corporation does not guarantee clean operations. But the corporate model does allow oversight by the state Attorney General, the IRS and other public agencies. This type of oversight brought these scandals to light and brought some malefactors to justice. This same oversight brought the Broken Trust trustees of KSBE and some of their cronies to heel, if only for them to then scatter and form new schemes. The Alaskan Native Corporation model maximizes the protection given Hawaiian beneficiaries and the body politic of Hawaii by increasing the enforcement power necessary to expose and prosecute corrupt activities.

NEW DISCOVERY (02/11/08): NEW EVIDENCE OF UNDISCLOSED RELATIONSHIPS WITH ERIC MARTINSON; BRUCE NAKAOKA; COLBERT MATSUMOTO; THE JAPANESE CULTURAL CENTER OF HAWAII, OTHERS.

Martinson has served on the JCCH board of directors as vice chairman since the 2002-2003 term.

The 2007-2008 JCCH board of directors consists of Chairman Martinson, and members Donn Ariyoshi, Susan Eichor, Dean K. Hirata, Gordon Kagawa, Wayne Kamitaki, Lee Moriwaki, Wayne Muraoka, Miki Okumura, Curt Otaguro, Susan Yamada Scott, Sherman Shiraishi, Yuki Lei Sugimura, Alan Tomonari and Ronald Ushijima.

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?

The Hawai'i Democrat announced in a statement yesterday that he is engaged to Irene Hirano, the president and chief executive officer of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

The couple has set a May 24 wedding date for a private ceremony with immediate family at a church in Los Angeles.

"Irene is an extraordinary woman of grace, intelligence and accomplishment," Inouye said in a statement. "She is a rare gem in our society. Without question, I am a very fortunate and lucky man."

Inouye, 83, was widowed in March 2006 when his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Shinobu Awamura Inouye, passed away from complications of colon cancer. They had been married nearly 57 years and have a son, Daniel Ken Inouye Jr.

Prominent local attorney Jeff Watanabe, whose association with Inouye dates back four decades, said he was "delighted by the news" of the engagement.

Watanabe said he was "fortunate" to have worked for Inouye's office in Washington, D.C., back in the late 1960s while attending Georgetown Law School. He said he and his firm have represented Inouye's political campaign over the years, adding "once you work for a senator, you always work for a senator."

Hirano, who is about 60 years old, has bachelor's and master's degrees in public administration from the University of Southern California. She has worked for three decades in nonprofit administration, community education and public affairs.

Many in Hawai'i have contributed financially to the Japanese American National Museum, where exhibits on Hawai'i have played prominently over the years. Those exhibits have included "Immigration: Japanese pioneers in Hawaii," "Issei Pioneers: Hawaii and the Mainland," and "From Bento to Mixed Plate: Americans of Japanese Ancestry in Multicultural Hawaii."

Colbert Matsumoto has truly come a long way from being a small island kid to chairman and CEO of Island Insurance Co., part of the state’s largest locally owned and managed property and casualty insurance carrier. Prior to becoming a company executive, Matsumoto worked for 20 years as member of the Hawaii Bar.

Greater Good Radio brings Colbert Matsumoto with his endless list of for-profit and non-profit involvement. Colbert talks to Evan and Kari about how he manages to organize himself during the long hours spent communicating with different groups of people during the day, and how his former teachers in the island of Lanai have set a positive influence in him to dream of becoming an advocate of education himself....

Colbert M. Matsumoto is the Chairman and CEO of Island Insurance Company, Ltd., Hawaii’s only locally owned and managed property and casualty insurance company. Prior to joining Island Insurance in 1999, he was engaged in the practice of law as a member of the Hawaii Bar for over 20 years.

Born and raised in a plantation community on the island of Lanai, Matsumoto attended the University of San Francisco where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1974 and then proceeded to obtain his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1978.

Matsumoto serves as a director on various corporate boards, including Island Holdings, Inc., Central Pacific Financial Corporation, Hawaiian Host, Inc., Oahu Publications, Inc. (Star Bulletin & Midweek), Hawaii Pacific Health (Straub Hospital & Clinic, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, and Wilcox Hospital); and Sutter Insurance Services Corporation.

He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Japanese American National Museum and is a member and past president of the Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Matsumoto received JACL’s Outstanding Community Service Award in 2004 for his leadership in connection with the $9 million campaign to save the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii from foreclosure.

He is also a member and founding president of the Hawaii Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). In 1994, Matsumoto was awarded NAPABA’s Trailblazer Award for his leadership in the Asian-American legal community. Matsumoto previously served as the at-large member of the Board of Land & Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii from 1995 to 2001.

For a five year period beginning in 1996, he served as the court-appointed master charged with reviewing the annual accounts of the Trustees of Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate. During that time he was also appointed by the Probate Court to serve as a member of the Trustee Compensation Committee and the Trustee Screening Committee for Kamehameha Schools.

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.

He graduated magna cum laude in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of San Francisco. Four years later, he received his from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. To add to his portfolio of academic and corporate achievements is his unrelenting support for various community-based causes. In 2004, Matsumoto received the Outstanding Community Service Award from JACL for leading the $9 million campaign to save the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii from foreclosure.

Greater Good Radio brings Colbert Matsumoto with his endless list of for-profit and non-profit involvement. Colbert talks to Evan and Kari about how he manages to organize himself during the long hours spent communicating with different groups of people during the day, and how his former teachers in the island of Lanai have set a positive influence in him to dream of becoming an advocate of education himself.

He also shares how he has become big boss of Island Insurance Co., it being his client for over 20 years.

This interview is specially catered for the big dreamers, filled with insights on how luck and perseverance play a tandem and why community-involvement is still the best way to achieve success.

So listen now and find out more about Colbert Matsumoto; lawyer, corporate executive, philanthropist.

Matsumoto is active with various community non-profit organizations and has been involved with numerous fundraising efforts on behalf of several non-profit entities. He is a director and past chairman of the board of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. Matsumoto also serves as a trustee of the Employees Retirement System of the State of Hawaii and is a director of the Hawaii Institute for Pubic Affairs. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Japanese American National Museum and is a member and past president of the Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Matsumoto received JACL’s Outstanding Community Service Award in 2004 for his leadership in connection with the $9 million campaign to save the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii from foreclosure. He is also a member and founding president of the Hawaii Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). In 1994, Matsumoto was awarded NAPABA’s Trailblazer Award for his leadership in the Asian-American legal community. Matsumoto previously served as the at-large member of the Board of Land & Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii from 1995 to 2001.