Former Hawaii Senate Majority Leader Jamie Kalani English (D) was sentenced to 40 months in prison for taking bribes to influence legislation while in office.
English, who represented east Maui and the islands of Molokai and Lanai, pleaded guilty to honest wire services fraud in February, and admitted to taking bribes from a local business owner amounting to $18,000 in exchange for ‘shaping legislation’ that would benefit a company involved in the publicly financed conversion of cesspools.
“[English] peddled the power and influence of his position as a Hawaii State Senator and Majority Leader to enrich himself and betray the trust bestowed upon him by those he was elected to serve,” U.S. prosecutors said in a memo to the judge, recommending a sentence of 3 and a half years in prison.
Former Hawaii state Rep Ty Cullen pleaded guilty to the same charge in a similar case and will be sentenced in October.
Richard Sing, English’s attorney, argued that his client should be sentenced to only 2 and a half years in prison, claiming that he had cooperated fully with the prosecution after his arrest and been completely honest about his dealings with the business owner in question, identified in court simply as “Person A”.
Sing also wrote that English was “was a compassionate and dedicated advocate for the rural communities and individuals he represented.” Sing declined to comment on the final sentence.
U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway also imposed a $100,000 fine on the former Hawaii State Senator and ordered that his release is followed by three years of supervision.
This is an excerpt from The Daily Wire.
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