Hawaii businessman to forfeit more than $20 million in assets after conviction, jury rules

The government can take control of $20 million to $28 million in the assets of convicted racketeering boss Michael Miske after jurors in Hawaii ruled Wednesday that the properties, boats, vehicles, artwork, cash and other items had been connected to Miske’s criminal enterprise.

Last week, jurors convicted Miske of 13 counts, including racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering in connection to the 2016 killing of Johnathan Fraser.

Wednesday marked the end of phase two of the nearly seven-month federal trial, which was likely the longest in the state’s history, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.

“This is a target that needed to be brought down,” he said, speaking to reporters outside the federal courthouse.

Jurors this week heard testimony and reviewed evidence regarding a list of 28 assets that the government said had helped Miske facilitate aspects of his criminal enterprise, had played a role in his carrying out crimes or had been purchased using proceeds from his racketeering activity.

The assets include homes in Portlock and Kailua, a 37.5-foot Boston Whaler boat called Painkiller, a 2017 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, multiple paintings and sculptures and millions of dollars in various bank accounts.

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The jury’s verdict means Miske’s rights to the assets have been removed and the funds will go into the government’s Assets Forfeiture Fund. The money can be used to pay costs related to the forfeiture process or other investigative expenses.

It can also be shared with law enforcement partners. Multiple federal agencies assisted in Miske’s investigation, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In some cases, victims can ask for forfeited funds as restitution.

But in the meantime, third parties can come forward and claim rights to the assets that were forfeited in what’s called an ancillary forfeiture proceeding. If the government contests a person’s claim to an asset, it’s settled in a civil trial.

The reading of the jury’s verdict on Wednesday was far less tense and emotional than at Miske’s criminal verdict last Thursday, when courtroom observers gasped and cried as the court clerk read that he had been found guilty of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum life sentence.

Miske’s defense attorney, Michael Kennedy, noted Wednesday that Miske had been found not guilty or acquitted of multiple counts as well. Before jurors began deliberating, he was acquitted of two counts — attempted murder, related to a 2017 attack on Lindsey Kinney, and carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

The jury also found him not guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit murder for hire resulting in death, another count that carried a mandatory minimum life sentence and stemmed from Fraser’s killing.

Kennedy said he planned to challenge the forfeiture decision and appeal all of Miske’s convictions.

“We will go forward with fighting for Mike,” he said.

Sorenson said prosecutors were not concerned about an appeal by the defense. He said the conviction of Miske, as well as the indictments of his 12 prior co-defendants, all of whom entered guilty pleas before the trial, has made the community safer.

“We share, and everybody in the community, a sense of relief that this scourge in our community has been brought to justice,” he said.

When asked why prosecutors hadn’t called certain witnesses, such as Lance Bermudez, a former co-defendant who allegedly played a significant role in Miske’s enterprise, he said the government “did a good job discerning what witnesses to cut loose and which ones to utilize.”

Prosecutors called 241 witnesses in total, he said.

Miske is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26. His former co-defendants are also scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months.

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This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.