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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Honolulu Meth-Dealer Protection Racketeer tied to Mehau, politicians
By Selected News Articles @ 12:18 PM :: 34657 Views :: Law Enforcement, Politicians, Drugs

Here are some news articles which--strung together--tell the story you won't be able to read anywhere else.  The story ends with a Governor, a Party Chair, a Congresswoman and more....

HONOLULU ADVERTISER: Man gets 16-month term for extortion of Meth Dealer

U.S. District Judge David Ezra sentenced former Aloha Stadium security chief Herbert Naone yesterday to 16 months in prison and fined him $10,000 for extorting and tipping off an Oahu nightclub owner of impending Honolulu Liquor Commission inspections.

Naone and Rodenhurst extorted thousands of dollars from (METH DEALER) Corey Kaowili Jr., who owned Club Sin City (also known as Club Pearl Ridge) in Pearl City and Volcanoes Night Club on Nimitz Highway in 2004 and 2005, according to the indictment against them.

Rodenhurst, a retired Honolulu police officer, informed Naone, his childhood friend and Kamehameha Schools classmate, of the inspections. Naone used the information to let Kaowili know when it was OK to violate liquor laws, according to the indictment.

The case is among a number of drug and gambling prosecutions that resulted from a wiretap investigation of a former FBI employee.

Kaowili is serving a 46-month federal prison term for methamphetamine distribution.

MUST READ: FBI ties security chief to organized crime

Naone became Aloha Stadium security chief, a state position, 18 years ago.

He was fired from HPD in the mid-1970s after he and two other HPD officers were charged with the shotgun robbery of a Kaua'i gambling game.

That case took five years to go to trial and charges against Naone were reduced from 25 counts of first-degree robbery to a single count of first degree theft. He was allowed to enter what's called a deferred acceptance of guilty plea and was fined $5,000. The theft charge was later erased from his record because he stayed out of legal trouble for five years.

Naone joined a private security guard firm, Hawaii Protective Association, and later became Aloha Stadium security chief.

Throughout his employment by the state, Naone continued to work part-time at Hawaii Protective Association, which is owned by another former Honolulu police officer, Larry Mehau. Naone is still employed there but is now on administrative leave, said HPA executive Dana Mehau-Vericella.

One of the FBI 2004 affidavits, filed to obtain court approval of a wiretap of Rodenhurst's work telephone at the Liquor Commission, described Mehau as a longtime Hawai'i organized crime figure.

Rodenhurst's lawyer, Myles Breiner, said his client "has dedicated his life to law enforcement."

"He's made a few mistakes," Breiner said of Rodenhurst. "We live in a culture of corruption that permeates most of our public institutions."

Attempts to reach Mehau for comment were unsuccessful. Dana Mehau-Vericella, his daughter, said this week her father would have no comment on that allegation. "He's never been indicted for anything," she said.

A longtime influential figure in the Hawaii Democratic Party and past chairman of the State Board of Land and Natural Resources, Mehau was once accused by a Honolulu City Prosecutor's aide of being the "godfather" of organized crime in Hawai'i, a charge that he adamantly denied. Mehau sued the prosecutor's aide, Rick Reed, for libel and invasion of privacy, but a Circuit Court jury decided the case in Reed's favor in 1992. Naone testified as a witness for Mehau in the trial.

RELATED: Nightclub money extortion charged

After leaving HPD, Naone went to work for a security guard company, Hawaii Protective Association, run by a longtime friend and fellow former HPD officer Larry Mehau. The company at one time held the Aloha Stadium security guard contract and Naone was hired as stadium security director after Hawaii Protective lost the contract. 

MORE: In her book "Washington Place: A First Lady's Story", Jean Ariyoshi credits former police officer Larry Mehau as becoming responsible for her family's safety. Mehau was also named "Neighbor Islands Coordinator" for her husband's campaign for governor. In the book she states that Mehau, although having a reputation as being honest and tough, was nicknamed in the press as "the Godfather."

TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY RELATED: Big Island Rancher Larry Mehau Hosts Community Rally for Sen. Akaka

In attendance August 27, 2006:  Democrats Gov. George Ariyoshi, US Rep. Mazie Hirono, Dem Party Chair Brian Schatz, Rep. Cindy Evans, Rep. Faye Hanohano, Sen. Dwight Takamine, Dem. Gov Candidate Randy Iwase, Dem Lt Gov Candidate Malama Solomon, and one Republican candidate, Bill Sanborn who has run for State Rep and State School Board.  The event was an official Akaka Campaign Committee sponsored rally.

 

One more thing...

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened." -- Sir Winston Churchill

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