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HONOLULU \u2014 A U.S. prosecutor revealed a possible glimpse into Hawaii\u2019s underworld on Monday as he outlined the crimes a Honolulu businessman is accused of orchestrating: the kidnapping of a 72-year-old accountant who owed a debt, the release of a toxic chemical into a rival\u2019s nightclubs and the killing of his late son\u2019s best friend, among them.<\/p>\n
Michael Miske Jr. was arrested in 2020, along with seven people whom prosecutors described as associates. But following a series of guilty pleas by the others \u2014 including a plea deal signed by his half-brother on Saturday \u2014 the trial opened with Miske as the lone defendant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendant used fear, violence and intimidation to get what he wanted,\u201d Assistant U.S. Attorney William Akina said in his opening statement. \u201cWhat he wanted was money, control and revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miske\u2019s attorney, Michael Kennedy, painted a completely different picture of his client.<\/p>\n
Miske, 49, wasn\u2019t a crime lord, but rather a \u201cself-made man\u201d who, despite growing up \u201con the wrong side of the tracks,\u201d successfully built a family business called Kama\u02bbaina Termite and Pest Control, Kennedy said in his opening statement.<\/p>\n
The company saved iconic Hawaii structures and \u201ccultural treasures,\u201d including outdoor theater Waikiki Shell, \u02bbIolani Palace and the Polynesian Cultural Center, Kennedy said. Miske even fumigated a Honolulu concert hall for free after the city couldn\u2019t afford the $200,000 estimate, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
Akina alleged that Miske also owned several nightclubs where disputes over bar tabs would be met with physical assault from his \u201cthugs.\u201d In addition, he made millions selling illegal commercial-grade aerial fireworks on the black market, Akina said.<\/p>\n
The businessman also groomed people from his Waimanalo neighborhood to violently rob drug dealers and carry out other orders, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
Akina said Miske ordered hits on people, and though many were never carried out, at least one was: the 2016 killing of Johnathan Fraser, best friend to Miske\u2019s only son, Caleb. Miske had long thought Fraser was a bad influence on Caleb, and blamed Fraser when the friends got into a car crash in 2015 that led to Caleb\u2019s death, Akina said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere could be only one price to pay for the death of the defendant\u2019s son,\u201d Akina said. \u201cA life for a life.\u201d<\/p>\n
An indictment alleges that Miske purchased a boat to dump Fraser\u2019s body into the ocean, though the body has never been found.<\/p>\n
Kennedy told jurors on Monday that Miske didn\u2019t blame Fraser for the crash and had nothing to do with his disappearance.<\/p>\n
The people who will be testifying against Miske have something to gain from authorities, Kennedy said, referring to plea deals made by his alleged associates.<\/p>\n
\u201cLies are going to rain down into this courtroom from that stand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Testimony is scheduled to begin Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Opening statements proceeded despite a motion filed Sunday night by Miske\u2019s defense team. His attorneys argued that a new jury should be selected because Miske\u2019s half-brother John Stancil pleaded guilty after a jury had been assembled and sworn and Miske\u2019s daughter-in-law Delia Fabro Miske pleaded guilty after four days of jury selection.<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Lynn Panagakos noted that Stancil pleaded guilty early Monday before the courthouse was even open to the public.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Chief Judge Derrick Watson denied the motion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[ad_1] HONOLULU \u2014 A U.S. prosecutor revealed a possible glimpse into Hawaii\u2019s underworld on Monday as he outlined the crimes a Honolulu businessman is accused of orchestrating: the kidnapping of a 72-year-old accountant who owed a debt, the release of a toxic chemical into a rival\u2019s nightclubs and the killing of his late son\u2019s best …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}