Prosecutors in Hawaii unseal public corruption, bribery case
HONOLULU — Federal prosecutors in Hawaii have announced bribery and public corruption charges against a Hawaii business owner and a Maui County official.
Court documents unsealed Thursday accuse Milton Choy, the owner of a Honolulu company that provides wastewater services and supplies, of bribing Stewart Olani Stant, who was a wastewater manager and then director of the Maui County Department of Environmental Management.
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U.S. Attorney for Hawaii Clare Connors said at a news conference Thursday that the case is among the largest bribery investigations in state history. She said Choy provided Stant with more than $2 million in cash and gifts that included direct deposits to Stant’s bank accounts, cash, gambling chips and trips to Las Vegas.
In return, prosecutors said Choy received upwards of $19 million in business contracts from the county.
Messages left for Stant on various social media sites were not immediately returned. Choy took responsibility for his actions and admitted everything he did to federal investigators, said his attorney Michael Green.
“He gave unprotected statements — that’s where you don’t ask for a lawyer and you you sit down with the agents and tell them what you did. And he did that. And he was he candid the whole time and told them everything he knew about corruption,” Green said.
If found guilty, Connors said, Choy would be required to forfeit assets up to $15 million and face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, Stant would be required to forfeit $2 million, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The two will be arraigned in federal court on Monday. Connors said investigators were tipped off by a member of the public.
“When we received the information from this member of the public, our investigators and prosecutors took a look at it and thought this is significant,” Connors said.
