A Bigger Fish than Luke: AG Bribery Letter Reopens PUC Lahaina Fire Coverup
by Andrew Walden
With the ‘target letter’ issued to Leo Asuncion Jr, the Sylvia Luke bribery scandal has exploded outward in a wholly new and unexpected direction – the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and with it, the Lahaina Fire coverup.
The Star-Advertiser, April 24, 2026 reports:
“… one of Luke’s volunteer campaign treasurers, Leo Asuncion Jr., were notified by Attorney General Anne E. Lopez that state investigators found evidence that may support bribery charges, sources told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser….”
After the news broke, Gov. Josh Green confirmed in an interview that Asuncion had been sent a target letter.
The Star-Advertiser article didn't mention that Asuncion was formerly PUC Chair. That is a sign of how explosive this is. Asuncion suddenly quit on November 17, 2025. His six-year term as Commissioner would have expired June 30, 2026.
Asuncion’s involvement re-opens several cans of PUC worms.
Interestingly, the current Chair of Friends of Sylvia Luke is Hermina Morita, who was PUC Chair from 2011-15. After resigning from PUC, Morita became an advisor to Luke’s House Finance Committee. This obviously suggests a nexus between House Finance Committee business and PUC business.
Asuncion’s name does not appear on any of Luke’s 2022 or 2026 cycle campaign fundraisers nor in the current version of the Luke Campaign organizational report. Older versions of campaign organizational reports are not available online from CSC despite a webpage purporting to make them available by ‘clicking the candidate name.’
Akamai readers will remember that the Luke bribery scandal starts with Maui wastewater executive Milton Choy bribing Senator (and former cocaine dealer) J Kalani ‘powdernose’ English and Sylvia Luke’s House Finance Committee Vice Chair Rep Ty Cullen. The PUC does not regulate publicly owned water/sewer systems but, according to its website, it does regulate 38 privately-owned systems statewide.
Asuncion in May, 2022, was the only PUC Commissioner to vote in favor of allowing the controversial ILWU-KSBE Hu Honua tree-burning plant to go online.
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Cans of Worms: Reopening the Asuncion PUC Scandals
Now that we know that former PUC Chair Leo Asuncion has been “notified by Attorney General Anne E. Lopez that state investigators found evidence that may support bribery charges” we can look back on Asuncion’s PUC scandals with proper clarity.
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1—Before Lahaina Fire, PUC Failed to Enforce Safety Requirements on HECO.
Congressman: I do not Accept Asuncion’s Lahaina Fire Answers
Star-Adv, Sept 29 2023: … Hawaii Public Utilities Commission Chair Leodoloff Asuncion Jr. and Mark Glick, the state’s chief energy officer, also were questioned by committee members during the hearing, titled “Investigating the Role of Electric Infrastructure in the Catastrophic Maui Fire.”…
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., asked Asuncion whether people on Maui reported excessive vegetation around utility poles and power lines. Palmer said he owns timberland in Alabama with power lines that run through it and that he routinely monitors the growth of grasses and other organic material that could start a wildfire.
“Is that something that people were not aware of as a potential problem for wildfire?” he asked.
Asuncion explained that any reports to HECO or the PUC of potential kindling growing around power transmission lines and utility poles would need to be handled by HECO.
“But if they don’t act on it, are there any penalties? Are there any enforcement actions that can be taken by the commission if the power company doesn’t do due diligence, that I think every power company should do, to make sure that they mitigate any risk for wildfire or harm to the public in any other way?” Palmer pushed.
“Certainly, we do have processes in place,” Asuncion said. “We could call the utility before us to explain their actions.”
“Yeah, but are there any penalties?” Palmer again asked.
“Excuse me?” Asuncion replied.
(TRANSLATION: “How dare you question me like that.”)
“Are there any penalties? Are there fines? Is there any way to exercise enforcement if the power company is not complying with the requirements?” Palmer pressed.
“We would have to figure out any penalty or any actions that the utility needs to make through our process,” Asuncion responded.
“You say you have to figure it out? That leads me to believe that you don’t have those in place now,” Palmer said.
“No, we do have those in place, but we have to follow our process in order to get to that level,” said Asuncion, who explained in general terms that multiple enforcement options are available to the PUC.
Palmer did not accept that answer.
“Mr. Chairman, I’m not satisfied with the answers. I would like the witness to provide to the committee, in detail, the enforcement measures the commission can impose on a utility that doesn’t comply with the regulations,” he said ….
SA Editorial: Little clarity after Maui fires hearing
OANN: ‘Conservative’ Media misses this story
LINK: VIDEO
read … House panel questions actions of HECO, PUC
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April, 2024: State Senate demands Investigation into PUC’s Pre-Fire Failures
2024 SR154: … WHEREAS, the August 2023 Maui wildfires, which resulted in the tragic deaths of over one hundred people, appears to have been initially started by a downed utility pole owned by a Maui electric utility; and
WHEREAS, despite this, the Public Utilities Commission has failed to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfires as required pursuant to section 269-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, further, the Public Utilities Commission has not proactively required each electric utility to prepare, submit, and implement a robust and effective wildfire mitigation plan…
2024 SR154: Text, Status (Adopted by vote of the Senate April 4, 2024)
HPR: Concerns over conflicts of interest, transparency raised ahead of key wildfire reports | Hawai'i Public Radio
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2. Whistleblower Exposes PUC Parties with HECO Execs--“We are setting ourselves up for the largest cost increase to consumers in history"
June 2025: “…At the PUC's annual holiday party in December 2024, Chair Leo Asuncion announced that his friend, Randy Baldemor, would be the new Chief of Policy and Research-the top technical and policy advisor for the three Commissioners. Leo told everyone that Randy also lives in Hawaii Kai and they barbeque together with HECO executives. Now, with Randy on board, the Commission is more likely to rubber-stamp HECO applications without sufficient review….”
Read … FULL TEXT: Whistleblower Exposes PUC Parties with HECO Execs--“We are setting ourselves up for the largest cost increase to consumers in history" > Hawaii Free Press
June 2025: Whistleblower claims 'toxic and ineffective work environment' at Public Utilities Commission | Hawai'i Public Radio
June 2025: Questions during Senate hearing deftly sidestepped PUC whistleblower’s allegations | i L i n d
Oct 2025: PUC Suspends Energy Equity Proceeding Because Nobody is Left Who Knows How to do it
Oct 1, 2025: PUC Corruption? DCCA says Nothing to See Here, Just Move Along
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3. What Asuncion knew before hiring Randy Baldomar
Feb 2025: Hawaii PUC Hires Randy Baldemor as Chief of Policy and Research | Ililani Media
Baldemor joined the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) in 2015 and resigned on March 2. 2016.
The Hawaii Ethics Commission released a report, “Hawaii Tourism Authority Chief Operating Officer’s Alleged Violations of Fair Treatment Law, Gifts Law, and Gifts Reporting Law” on October 2, 2017.
The Hawaii Ethics Commission fined four top current and former Hawaii Tourism Authority executives more than $12,000 for failing to report that they received free travel upgrades from international airlines. HTA Chief Operating Officer Randy Baldemor was fined $6,000 for receiving six free upgrades to business class from Japan Airlines, China Airlines and Air China between 2015 and 2016. None of the executives reported the upgrades, worth more than $200 each, on their mandatory annual gift disclosures.
Civil Beat ran a lengthy story on the war between Senator Wakai and the HTA.
Senator Glenn Wakai`s wife, Miki Wakai was hired by HTA as a brand manager in 2013. She was assigned to work on Southeast Asia and Korea projects by HTA’s chief operating officer, Randy Baldemor, something that Miki Wakai expressed concerns about to her husband. Miki resigned in lieu of being fired in 2016.
The Wakais emailed each other about the agency’s loss of the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl. Senator Wakai sent hundreds of emails to HTA demanding information about its policies and practices, including how it handled sports marketing.
Glenn Wakai asked Baldemor for details about the HTA’s Sports Marketing RFP. Later that same month, Miki Wakai resigned — according to one of the interviews, “in lieu of termination.”
Senator Wakai became chair of the Senate’s Economic Development, Tourism and Technology Committee where he moved to cut the HTA’s budget by 44%.
“This bill injects accountability into an agency that denies any shortcomings and continues to shirk its responsibility to the public,” Wakai said in a statement at the time…
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FULL TEXT: Whistleblower Exposes PUC Parties with HECO Execs--“We are setting ourselves up for the largest cost increase to consumers in history"
… he fails everywhere he goes in government:
"This guy is not from Hawaii and doesn't know anything about our culture. He get one track record of setting fires in government and running away. Try look at the failed tax modernization plan he left in ruins after being deputy director at Tax. There was the thousand page technology master plan he created as deputy director at the tech department which resulted in nothing. This guy probably running away from another problem he created a HTA."
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Nov 10 2025: Leo Asuncion Is Leaving the PUC Next Week | Ililani Media-- Leo had opportunity to fill many vacancies. One bright spot and a great choice he made was former OPR Chief Grace Relf. By making that choice, Leo showed he valued her education, her work history at the PUC, her character and integrity, and her potential to lead the Commission on important policy decisions far into the future. She was a bright, accomplished young leader eager to make her mark who garnered the respect of all staff. It is unclear what happened exactly with Relf, but she left after only a year, and it's clear that the Commission's leadership on important policy matters really waned in her absence. Leo's later pick for her replacement was highly questionable and seems to have set the ball rolling for what has happened now. He had to have known that picking Baldemor would drive out experienced staff. It is hard to square Asuncion's two diametrically opposed choices for OPR Chief. I wonder what really went on behind the scenes.
Nov 10 2025: PUC Chair Resigns > Hawaii Free Press
Nov 10 2025: Hawaiʻi's Top Utility Regulator Abruptly Steps Down - Honolulu Civil Beat
April 20 2026: Gov. Green's pick to lead the PUC gets nod from senate committee | Hawai'i Public Radio
April 24 2026: Hawaii Attorney General now targets former PUC Chair in state bribery investigation