David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025
Pay-To-Play: Hawaiʻi CEO Pressured Staff To Make Political Gifts
Court documents in an ongoing felony case reveal new details about how employees were reimbursed for making campaign donations.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2016
Disgraced Police Chief Louis Kealoha Still Owes Honolulu $250,000
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?
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024
Federal Judge Won’t Make Bribery Investigations Public — So We’re Appealing
The details behind bribery convictions of two Hawaiʻi lawmakers are vital to restoring the public’s confidence in the integrity of our political system.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025
‘This Has To End’: Revelations Renew Calls For Government Accountability
House and Senate leadership have little to say about the subject of a federal bribery investigation giving one of their 2022 colleagues $35,000.
FBI Recorded Hawaiʻi Lawmaker Being Given $35,000
Three years after the handoff, the identities of an unnamed man and the lawmaker he paid remain unknown to the public.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025
Honolulu Officials Who Arranged Illegal Kealoha Payout Agree To Pay Up
One of the last chapters of Honolulu’s infamous Kealoha scandal has come to an end.
Courtesy: Hawaii News Now
Covid Relief Fraud Gets Hawaiʻi Defense Contractor 87 Months In Prison
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.
AP Photo/Jennifer Kelleher/2024
Mike Miske’s Half-Brother, ‘Key Player’ In Organized Crime, Gets 20 Years
John Stancil pleaded guilty last year to one count of racketeering conspiracy, leaving Miske to stand trial alone.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022
Hawaiʻi Executive Indicted For Illegal Campaign Donations
Felony charges related to campaign donations are a rarity in Hawaiʻi, although reforms passed in 2022 helped in bringing a new case.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024
Bill To Close Pay-To-Play Loophole In Hawaiʻi Moves To Full House
People with ties to government contracts would be banned from political donations.