Hawaii ex-lawmakers are accused of taking thousands of dollars in bribes

The state Legislature was shaken Tuesday by U.S. Department of Justice charges accusing a former state Senate majority leader and the vice chairman of the House Committee on Finance with taking thousands of dollars in bribes to promote and kill legislation related to cesspool and wastewater policy to benefit a Hawaii industrial services company and its affiliated businesses.

Former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and state Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen, vice chairman of the House Committee on Finance, were charged by the DOJ with accepting cash, hotel rooms, dinners and casino chips in exchange for introducing measures, killing legislation and relaying legislative intelligence to a Hawaii industrial services company from about 2014 through 2021, according to documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. They remain free pending an initial appearance in federal court.

Cullen resigned from the state House at 1:02 p.m. Tuesday, according to leadership, 28 minutes before the scheduled start of a news conference in the office of U.S. Attorney Clare Connors. English’s attorney released a statement saying the retired lawmaker will take responsibility for his actions.

Investigating and prosecuting cases of public corruption are a top priority of the Justice Department in Hawaii, Connors told reporters, flanked by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Sorenson and Micah Smith, and Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Honolulu division.

Fraudulent gift disclosure forms, filed electronically over wired communication networks, and the federal honest-services fraud statute gave the federal government the jurisdiction to pursue the alleged scheme, Connors explained.

“They charge schemes to defraud the citizens of the state of Hawaii of honest services by elected officials,” said Connors, speaking at the news conference. “They reflect the priority of the federal law enforcement community here in Hawaii to investigate and prosecute corrupt practices by our state public and elected officials.”

Merrill said during the news conference that the FBI makes it a priority to protect everyone in Hawaii, “including protecting the public’s trust” by conducting corruption investigations. Corruption poses a “fundamental threat to our way of life” and will not be tolerated, he said.

“To the critics of corrupt public officials, thank you for keeping the pressure on our elected officials to do what’s best for our citizens, not themselves,” said Merrill, speaking to reporters.

Officials declined to answer questions about what a business owner described as “Person A” might be receiving in exchange for cooperation. They did not say whether more indictments were pending or if English’s and Cullen’s state offices and personal residences were searched as part of the investigation.

English, 54, “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 Person A. Person A is cooperating with DOJ’s ongoing investigation, according to sources, and owns and operates businesses that have done work in every county.

“Kalani is extremely remorseful and deeply sorry for his actions,” said Eng­lish’s attorney, Richard Sing, in a statement. “He has cooperated fully with the federal government and will be taking formal responsibility in the form of a guilty plea to be completed in the coming days.”

Between September 2014 and Oct. 8, 2021, Cullen allegedly “secretly used his official position to enrich himself by accepting bribes from Person A in exchange for Cullen’s promise of providing, in his official capacity as a member of the State House, legislative support that would be beneficial to Person A’s company,” according to the federal charges.

House Speaker Scott Saiki issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying that Cullen resigned at 1:02 p.m.

“The allegations against former Senator Kalani Eng­lish and Representative Ty Cullen are very serious and these actions violate the public trust,” Saiki said. “The Hawaii Democratic Party will now need to begin the process of nominating a replacement for Representative Cullen.”

English and Cullen could not be reached for comment.

Among the bribery examples cited by prosecutors is a March 11, 2020, meeting in Person A’s car where English allegedly accepted $10,000 in cash to kill a cesspool bill after originally being asked to push for it.

“During the meeting, Person A told English that for unanticipated reasons, he/she needed English to delay the passage of the cesspool bills until next session and paid English a bribe totaling S10,000 in cash to see to it that the cesspool bills were killed,” DOJ alleges.

Another example detailed by federal prosecutors occurred on Feb. 24, 2020, when Person A allegedly paid English $1,000 in cash for introducing Senate Bill 2380.

Less than a year later, on Jan. 14, 2021, Person A allegedly handed English an envelope and told him while they sat in a car in Kakaako, “That’s money for you. $5,000.” Person A thanked English for “all his support” and told him what they needed, according to the court filing.

“English then placed the $5,000 in currency into his back pocket and told Person A, ‘I can definitely use that right now. All the mortgages have become due,’” he said, according to court documents.

FBI agents monitoring the interaction pulled over Person A and witnessed English trying to “hide $5,000 under the front floor mat of Person A’s vehicle,” according to the charging document.

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.

Cullen, a Democrat who represents Royal Kunia, Waipahu and Makakilo, is accused to taking $23,000 in bribes from 2019 to 2020 from “Person A” to work on legislation to benefit Person A’s wastewater and sewage treatment company.

Investigators documented seven separate cash payments that Cullen accepted allegedly as payment to do Person A’s bidding, according to DOJ officials.

Like English, Cullen, 41, is charged with “honest services wire fraud” for failing to report the alleged bribes in his electronic legislative gift disclosure report.

In addition to cash bribes, federal prosecutors allege that in the fall of 2014, Person A gave casino chips and placed bets for Cullen during a trip to the National Conference of State Legislatures in New Orleans. Cullen walked away with $22,000 worth of chips. During the 2015 legislative session, Cullen allegedly introduced and helped to pass legislation that benefited Person A’s company.

On Dec. 19, 2019, Person A met with Cullen about the upcoming session and asked whether he needed help.

“Cullen stated that he was ‘paying plenty debt.’ Person A asked Cullen if he needed ‘3’ or ‘5’ (meaning $3,000 or $5,000), to which Cullen responded ‘5,’” according to court documents.

If convicted, English and Cullen face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

Charging Document – Former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd

State Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen complaint by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd