FBI Recorded Hawaiʻi Lawmaker Being Given $35,000

It was the day before the Hawaiʻi legislative session began in 2022, and a man wanted Hawaiʻi Rep. Ty Cullen to do him a favor.

He paid Cullen, believing the lawmaker could assist with an official request.

Two days later, the man and Cullen met again, this time with another lawmaker. On that day, the man gave the other lawmaker $35,000.

What neither party knew was that Cullen was secretly recording the interaction for the FBI as part of a sprawling federal corruption investigation.

Those meetings were described in a document the U.S. Department of Justice filed in federal court in 2023, the contents of which are being made public for the first time. It called the recipient of the $35,000 “influential” and said the money was for “an existing campaign.”

The court filing reveals the existence of two new characters in a scandal that rocked the Hawaiʻi Capitol and launched a crisis of public trust that elected officials have yet to fully reckon with. The investigation landed Cullen and former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English in prison after they pleaded guilty to taking cash and other gifts from businessman Milton Choy.

Neither the powerful Hawaiʻi lawmaker nor the man who apparently tried to buy favors from politicians is named in the filing.

Sections of the filing were improperly redacted so Civil Beat was able to view the blacked out text. The court filing was submitted to justify a lesser sentence for Cullen.

Cullen’s assistance in 2022 resulted in a “chargeable bribery offense,” the filing states, but to this day, no charges have been announced. 

Civil Beat held off publishing details from the filing while the investigation continued. But it has now been more than three years since Cullen was charged and a year since he was released from prison. It’s unclear whether the public will ever get clarity on some of the mysteries of the case, including the identities of those involved, why the money was given and whether anyone will face criminal charges.

The public corruption investigation, which began during President Donald Trump’s first term, has now lasted through two changes in federal administrations. In his second term, it’s unknown what impact possible cuts could have in Department of Justice units that handle public corruption cases.

There are a few possibilities that could explain why so much time has passed without the announcement of criminal charges, according to retired federal public defender Ali Silvert.

Prosecutors may not believe they have sufficient evidence to file charges, particularly in a changed legal landscape.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal laws against bribery don’t apply if a reward is given to a politician after the elected official performs a requested act. If the $35,000 was given as a so-called gratuity for a previous act, federal prosecutors may not be able to charge it as a bribery case.

“It could be that whatever information was developed in 2022 is now basically dead,” Silvert said.

Another possibility, Silvert said, is that one or both of the unnamed individuals could be cooperating with the government in an ongoing investigation. The statute of limitations for federal fraud cases is five years, giving the U.S. Attorney until January 2027 to file charges.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson confirmed officials are still working on the case, but he declined to answer questions. “If you run this story, you’ve been told by the acting U.S. Attorney that it will endanger an ongoing operation,” he said.

Cullen Recorded Meetings For FBI

The federal investigation launched in 2018 with agents pursuing a tip from Maui County Council staffers who were looking into a wastewater company that had won millions of dollars in no-bid contracts.

Prosecutors focused on company owner Choy, who bribed Maui officials and eventually began cooperating with the FBI, recording his conversations with lawmakers.

Choy led investigators to English, a prominent Maui senator who took more than $18,000 worth of cash, meals and Vegas hotel rooms while he leaked state reports to Choy and introduced a bill that would benefit his company.

English was arrested in January 2021 while trying to hide an envelope of cash under the floormat of Choy’s car.

Cullen also was accepting bribes from Choy in the form of cash and poker chips starting as far back as 2014, just a few years after he entered Hawaii politics, he later admitted.

Agents arrested Cullen in October 2021 right after he stepped into Choy’s car for a meeting.

Cullen immediately agreed to help federal authorities, providing “substantial information”about activities involving himself and others, according to the DOJ court filing.

“These activities included the acceptance of bribes and monetary rewards for the performance of official acts on behalf of special interests by both the defendant and other legislators,” the filing states.

Cullen also recorded phone calls and meetings, giving federal agents leverage against investigative subjects, according to the filing.

On Dec. 13, 2021, Cullen traveled to New Jersey at the FBI’s request to meet with one such investigative subject — an interaction that was monitored and recorded by the FBI. That meeting and a follow-up conversation the next day helped the public corruption investigation, the filing states.  

A few weeks later, on Jan. 18, 2022, that man paid Cullen $3,000, “believing the defendant could assist him with an official request,” according to the filing. The filing doesn’t specify what the man wanted or whether Cullen acted on the request.

Two days after that meeting, on Jan. 20, the man provided the “influential state lawmaker” with the $35,000, the filing says.

Prosecutors ultimately recommended Cullen serve two years in prison instead of three due to his cooperation. In the end, he served 11 months.

Choy pleaded guilty too and was sentenced to three years behind bars. He died in a North Carolina prison last year.

The Mystery Of The $35,000

The identities of the lawmaker and the man remain unknown, and the federal filing leaves few clues as to who they might be.

Civil Beat sued the FBI for investigative records related to Cullen and English’s cases after being denied access under the Freedom of Information Act. The agency has argued in court that none of the records may be disclosed because it could hinder what they say is an ongoing investigation; the lawsuit is pending in federal court.

Civil Beat asked the Hawaiʻi House and Senate for the calendars of all state lawmakers from the day of Cullen’s meeting mentioned in the court filing. The House clerk did not respond to the request before this story was published. The Senate clerk denied the request, saying that such a release would constitute a “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” among other justifications.

A thorough review of public records – including travel and expense records, campaign finance documents and gift logs – did not reveal any indications of who Cullen may have met with on Jan. 20.

Several lawmakers from that session reported income between $25,000 and $50,000 from a single source that year, but all cited payments from longstanding side jobs, like legal work and rental properties, or retirement income. Four legislators from that session, who did not seek reelection, did not file financial disclosures covering their activities for 2022 before they left office. 

No candidate or political action committee reported a fundraiser on that date. 

The DOJ filing doesn’t say whether the $35,000 was in cash or checks. Either way, according to campaign finance law at the time, it could have been legal if the man was “bundling” campaign donations – in other words, combining multiple donations from other people – and if those donations were ultimately reported.

An analysis of campaign finance records show Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke was the only state lawmaker who reported campaign contributions the week of Jan. 20, 2022, that came anywhere near $35,000.

She reported the deposit of $36,350 from 16 individuals and organizations from Jan. 20 through Jan 27, 2022, campaign finance data shows. By law, donations must be deposited and reported within seven days of receipt.

A veteran of the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives, Luke held the powerful position of finance committee chair before running for lieutenant governor in 2022, making her both influential – as the federal filing described the unnamed lawmaker – and in need of campaign donations. 

But in an interview with Civil Beat, Luke denied involvement and said federal law enforcement had never contacted her.

“I was never in a meeting with Cullen where somebody gave me $35,000,” she said.

Civil Beat reached out to all of Luke’s individual donors from that week. Four out of the five who spoke to reporters said they donated directly to her campaign and not through a third party. One donor said she donated through her boss. Other donors did not respond.

Luke said there is a “zero percent chance” that the money referred to in the court filing is the same as her campaign contributions.

“For me, this is pure coincidence,” she said.

State Prosecutors Could Step In

University of Hawaii professor and political scientist Colin Moore said it is disturbing to learn that another potentially senior lawmaker was taking money in this way from someone who might have been seeking to influence them.

“The sad thing is it confirms what I think many citizens believe, that there is this rampant corruption,” he said. “Trust is already low, and incidents like this undermine it even more.”

Even if a federal criminal case is never filed against this unnamed legislator, the $35,000 transaction could represent a violation of Hawaii campaign finance or ethics laws, for instance if it all came from one person or wasn’t reported. That would be up to state officials to enforce.

State law limits individual campaign contributions to either $2,000 or $4,000 for House and Senate candidates, respectively, per election cycle.

If a lawmaker accepted more than that from one person or didn’t report it, intending to circumvent the law or deceive the Hawaiʻi Campaign Spending Commission, it would be a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and the person could be barred from holding elected office for a decade.

Bribery is also a state felony, although prosecutors would have the difficult task of proving the money was given specifically to influence the lawmaker. Failure to disclose gifts or income could be considered false swearing, which is a misdemeanor.

State ethics director Robert Harris said he would be interested in looking into the matter if the $35,000 handoff went unreported. His office can refer cases to the Attorney General’s Office.

“I can’t think of a scenario where that would be permitted,” he said. 

In a statement, Attorney General Anne Lopez’s office declined to speculate about whether the circumstances described in the DOJ filing would amount to a state crime, and if so, what kind.

Whether charges are filed or not, the identity of the lawmaker should be made public, UH professor Moore said. Two state election cycles have passed since the events described in the court filing. It’s possible the official still holds elected office today.

“It seems important information for the public to know,” Moore said, “and certainly the people who would be voting for this potential lawmaker.”

Cullen is one of the few people who knows the identity of both the man who paid him and the unnamed legislator.

Civil Beat tracked Cullen down at his new workplace, a flooring contractor in Kaimukī, and found the former politician working at a computer in a converted garage.

A reporter asked him who was in the meeting where the $35,000 was exchanged.

Cullen declined to comment.