Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has continued to amend her campaign filings to include more previously unreported contributions.

The announcement comes a day after Luke’s lawyer acknowledged that she is a target in a bribery investigation. State Comptroller Keith Regan is named acting LG.

Bribery charges are being considered, Luke’s attorney confirmed.

House Speaker Nadine Nakamura tabled the citizen petition with little advance notice or discussion.

Civil Beat requested emails ex-Rep. Ty Cullen and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke exchanged with a lobbyist. Requests were denied because the accounts were deleted.

Donations tied to Tobi Solidum weren’t included in the audit’s findings.

Following Civil Beat’s reporting, the nonprofit is enlisting outside help to review its books.  

Kevin Sumida could face punishment ranging from a private admonition to suspension. 

The islands’ chief law enforcement officer asked for patience with her office’s investigation into who received the money. 

Records show firms associated with politically connected contractor Dennis Mitsunaga collected nearly $1.8 million for a Kapolei building that has never materialized. 

New statements by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke make “no sense whatsoever,” a local attorney says, and deserve an investigation free of conflicts of interest.

The lieutenant governor is only now reporting money she received four years ago as a bribery scandal continues to roil the Hawaiʻi Legislature.

The fact that the AG is now investigating the $35,000 potential bribe is a good thing. But it doesn’t let the Legislature off the hook.

A state lawmaker took $35,000 from a federal bribery subject in 2022. Hawaiʻi prosecutors are now in charge of the case.

Civil Beat contacted all the potential suspects. Many were quick to deny involvement. Some let others speak for them. Others remain silent. 

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez says the state won’t pursue an investigation, but lawmakers are facing pressure to launch their own probe.

The House is reviewing a petition to investigate $35,000 given to a lawmaker in a paper bag. The Senate so far is mum.

Newly public court documents accuse Christopher Dawson and other executives not only of stealing from their federal contracting business but shortchanging Native Hawaiians in the process.

Hawaiʻi should consider establishing an independent entity to operate in the space between criminal prosecution and legislative discipline.

Pressure has been building on legislative leaders to launch their own investigation into the possible bribe of one of their members.

Legal experts said Sabrina McKenna’s opinion on the case involving three former city officials was not related to the matter before the court.

Three former Honolulu officials may have an opening to get their criminal records thrown out, one legal expert says.

Court documents in an ongoing felony case reveal new details about how employees were reimbursed for making campaign donations.

Years after his corruption conviction, the ex-chief hasn’t returned his retirement money to taxpayers as promised. Now that he’s back on Oʻahu, is there any hope?

The details behind bribery convictions of two Hawaiʻi lawmakers are vital to restoring the public’s confidence in the integrity of our political system.

House and Senate leadership have little to say about the subject of a federal bribery investigation giving one of their 2022 colleagues $35,000.

Three years after the handoff, the identities of an unnamed man and the lawmaker he paid remain unknown to the public.

One of the last chapters of Honolulu’s infamous Kealoha scandal has come to an end. 

Martin Kao, convicted of stealing pandemic-era relief funds, was also ordered to pay $13 million in restitution and serve 12,800 hours of community service.

John Stancil pleaded guilty last year to one count of racketeering conspiracy, leaving Miske to stand trial alone.

Felony charges related to campaign donations are a rarity in Hawaiʻi, although reforms passed in 2022 helped in bringing a new case.

People with ties to government contracts would be banned from political donations.

Former Mayor Kirk Caldwell said the deals represent the “last chapter of the Kealoha scandal.” 

People have been waiting way too long for permits, with many applications literally taking years, but city data suggests the system is gaining speed.

Christopher Dawson, the founder of the Dawson family of companies, died by suicide as he faced potential criminal charges for alleged financial crimes.

Civil Beat has been trying to get the investigative files on public officials convicted of bribery for more than a year.

Luana Mahi may have recused herself from decisions involving the contracts but she still signed off or recommended approval of contracts.

There’s an ongoing review of grants administered by the Office of Economic Development under director Luana Mahi.

Details of the grant awards and conflicts of interest were contained in a redacted ethics advisory opinion in July.

Learn what it takes to pull off an investigation into public corruption.

The manner and cause of his death are still not known.

The case was unsuccessful in criminal court, but civil cases have a lower standard of proof.

Federal prosecutors take a case to trial and lose in less than 1% of cases. So what happened in one of Hawaii’s most high-profile corruption trials?

A federal prosecution ended in acquittal but left behind crumbs that state officials could pursue. 

Prosecutors presented only circumstantial evidence that left room for reasonable doubt, a juror said.

Tearful defendants and their attorneys embraced after the clerk read the verdict.

Prosecutors tried to convince jurors money given to Keith Kaneshiro’s campaign was part of a conspiracy to bribe the former Honolulu prosecutor, but defense attorneys maintain it was legal.

A judge said Mitsunaga’s medical needs can be managed by the Bureau of Prisons.

As grand jury witnesses, the defendants claimed to remember little about their thousands of dollars of political giving.

Dennis Mitsunaga’s attorney said the injury supports her prior argument that her elderly client shouldn’t have been detained.