The Hawaii State Ethics Commission fined four Hawaii Tourism Authority employees for unethical travel practices but chose not to penalize two other HTA employees, including a state senator’s wife.

In December, the commission fined four HTA executives a combined $12,000 for violating the state ethics code by accepting, and in some cases soliciting, airline travel upgrades for business trips between 2014 and 2016. Those cited included HTA President and CEO George Szigeti; former Chief Operating Officer Randy Baldemor; Jadie Goo, director of marketing for China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; and David Uchiyama, former vice president of brand management.

But a list obtained by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser shows HTA provided the commission with evidence that the agency’s former tourism brand manager, Miki Wakai, who is married to state Sen. Glenn Wakai (D-Kalihi, Salt Lake), received three trip upgrades. Bryan Lynx, former vice president of meetings, conventions and incentives, was listed as receiving one trip upgrade.

The Star-Advertiser also found the commission had concerns about HTA hotel upgrades that weren’t made public when its earlier findings were published. A Dec. 14 memo sent to Szigeti by Daniel Gluck, commission executive director and general counsel, said it appeared HTA personnel were choosing hotels and then executing a tailored comparison search to make it appear their selection was the least expensive.

The memo said “comparable” hotels used to justify the selection of a desired hotel included properties such as the Four Seasons Beijing, the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai and the Mandarin Oriental Taipei. As a result, HTA agreed to pay $510 a night for the Hilton London Tower Bridge, $495 for the Guangzhou Sheraton, $405 for The Royal Horseguards London, $352 for London Hilton Park Lane, $332 for Conrad Centennial Singapore, $326 for Westin Beijing Chaoyang, $325 for Renaissance Chicago, and $319 for Westin Shanghai.

“I believe that the commission conducted a thorough and impartial investigation,” Gluck said. “We collected documents and interviewed witnesses and the determination was that there wasn’t evidence to support additional charges beyond what were made.”

Gluck said the commission doesn’t “give favorable treatment to anyone,” however, it does consider mitigating or aggravating factors, the severity of the offense and whether the person has been the subject of previous ethics investigations. Cases involving a high-level official may be treated differently than cases in which an employee was instructed to engage in certain conduct by a supervisor.

The commission’s history dates back to 1968 when it was established as the nation’s first state ethics panel. It comprises five nonpaid members who apply to the state Judicial Council and are selected by the governor to serve four-year terms. Reynaldo Graulty currently chairs the commission, whose other members are Ruth Tschumy, Susan DeGuzman, Melinda Wood and David O’Neal.

Their duties are to administer the ethics code found in Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 84 and promote “ethical conduct and public confidence in state government.”

Gluck said the commission is prohibited from providing specific details about the HTA case since “our proceedings are quasi-judicial and must be confidential for the commission to conduct its legitimate function.”

The commission wants to prevent unproven allegations from marring an individual’s reputation and to “make sure people feel comfortable talking to us, particularly whistleblowers,” he said.

State Rep. Issac Choy (D-Manoa, Punahou) said he understands the need for confidentiality during an investigation, but “once charges are filed, that’s the demarcation line.”

“Anyone who violates state law should have been included if they were state employees,” Choy said.

State Sen. Will Espero (D-Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point) said he did not have enough information to take a position on the HTA matter so he’d like more details. “There’s an issue of fairness here and whether the right procedures were followed and carried out. And if anyone needs to make sure all their ducks were in line, we would want it to be the Ethics Commission,” he said.

Lynx did not return a call from the Star-Advertiser. Wakai said she cooperated with the commission and did not know why she was not fined.

HTA records show Wakai was switched from an economy seat to an economy premium seat and given access to Japan Airlines’ Sakura Lounge during an April 2016 trip. Wakai said she didn’t view that as an upgrade and was surprised when she was moved to business class during a July 2015 trip with Hawaii Tourism Japan contractors.

“The upgrade caught me by surprise,” Wakai said. “I didn’t take a look at my boarding pass until I got to the gate. They probably accommodated me because I was traveling with HTJ and they had been accommodated.”

In August 2015, she traveled to Japan with Szigeti and Baldemor, who also had been upgraded to business class by Japan Airlines. She said she didn’t ask questions because she was intimidated by her HTA managers.

“Anyone who questioned Randy or George got fired or was asked to resign,” Wakai said.

Wakai said she was told to seek upgrades for Szigeti and Baldemor when they decided to make a stop in Japan during a trip to China in October 2015.

HTA asked Wakai to resign in July 2016, she said. At that time, HTA offered her an $85,000 contracting job but she turned it down because it required her to sign a nondisclosure agreement prohibiting her from sharing what she saw and heard during her employment there.

Szigeti said that to his knowledge, Wakai was not directed to make any upgrades.

He said a reduction in HTA’s administrative cap resulted in job losses for about six people roughly within a month of his June 2015 start with the agency. Since then, Szigeti said the new leadership team has worked to create a “positive culture” and to “foster a more open and collaborative atmosphere.”

“Even though we have all these attacks, we’re trying to take the high road and do everything the right way,” he said.

Szigeti said he clarified HTA’s travel policy to all employees when the commission investigation made him aware that it was illegal for state employees to take upgrades.

“In the private sector, upgrades are a common practice, just part of the business practice. For us, we have none,” he said. “We’ve also got ongoing ethics training.”