FORMER HAWAI`I SENATOR J. KALANI ENGLISH INDICTED FOR BRIBERY
Honolulu Star-Advertiser - February 8, 2022
Former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and current state House Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen were charged today by the U.S. Department of Justice with accepting bribes to support and kill legislation on behalf of a Hawaii industrial services company angling to benefit from state cesspool regulations and policies, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court today.
English “did knowingly devise and intend to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the citizens of the State of Hawaii of their right to English’s honest and faithful services as an elected legislator and Senate Majority Leader of the Hawaii State Senate, through bribery and concealment of material information,” according to the charging document.
The Justice Department alleges that English solicited money, dinners, and lodging from a business owner identified as “Person A.” Person A is cooperating with DOJ’s ongoing investigation.
Among the examples is a March 11, 2020, meeting in Person A’s car where English accepted $10,000 in cash to kill a cesspool bill after originally asking English to push for it.
Another example detailed by federal prosecutors occurred on Feb. 24, 2020. English and “Person A” met at a restaurant and during the meeting, “Person A” paid English $1,000 in cash for introducing a bill.
In his state gift disclosure statement, English “knowingly and purposefully failed to declare the receipt of any of the funds or financial benefits conferred upon him by Person A,” including the hotel rooms provided to him in June 2019 at a cost of $1,805, the $500 in cash he also got in June 2019, $1,000 in cash provided to him in February 2020 or the $10,000 he accepted in March 2020.
Lawmakers are required to disclose gifts exceeding $200, in total or aggregate.
At the same time, DOJ alleges English “scrupulously disclosed small gifts he received from legitimate sources during that same time period,” including, gifts of $7 worth of trail mix from a private company, $10 worth of chili pepper water from the County of Kauai, a $20 goody and snack bag from the Maui County Council, and a $22 grocery bag of vegetables from a law firm.
In April, English, a Democrat, stepped down from his Senate seat, citing lingering symptoms from a COVID-19 infection. Representing Hana, East and Upcountry Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe, English’s tenure in the Senate started in 2001
