A former city building plans examiner was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for accepting more than $28,000 in bribes to fast-track projects through the permitting process.
In April 2021, Kanani Padeken, 38, then a Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting employee, confessed in federal court to taking about $28,400 in bribes to expedite building projects for a local architect.
“This series of prosecutions exposed a pay-to-play system whereby public officials blithely violated their positions of trust for personal gain, and businesspersons readily bought an unfair advantage over their fellow law-abiding citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Clare Connors in a statement. “Because the people of Hawaii deserve honest and accountable public institutions, our office will vigorously pursue these types of integrity crimes and do our part to restore confidence in government.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Nammar and Craig Nolan prosecuted the case.
Padeken took money from William Wong, 73, founder of Asia Pacific Architectural Consultants, according to prosecutors. Wong entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 that required him to plead guilty to one count of honest services wire fraud for paying thousands to city DPP workers to fast-track his projects’ approval.
He was sentenced in July to one year and one day in federal prison.
Padeken, a single mother with no prior criminal convictions, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of honest services wire fraud and resigned from the city.
“I have brought into question my integrity, loyalty and trust to not only my family but also my son, friends, colleagues and the general public. I aided in the investigation, to do the right thing; for all the people I failed personally and those who are failed by the department and the system,” wrote Padeken in an October letter to Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson. “I admitted my wrongdoing; to make things right and make a change within the culture of the department and industry. I have broken the trust of every person in need of going through the building department for various reasons.”
After completing her sentence, Padeken will serve two years of federal probation. She must also pay a $100 special assessment and pay criminal forfeiture in the amount of $28,400.
“Kanani Padeken’s decision to accept bribes was criminal and the ultimate betrayal of the public’s trust. While we condemn her actions, we are fully committed to fixing a system that allowed Kanani and four other former DPP employees to accept bribes,” said Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, DPP director, in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “DPP is working hard to address core dysfunctions by eliminating the permitting backlog, establishing essential standard operating procedures, and instilling the highest integrity in its operations to prevent any further wrongdoing. The public deserves no less than timely, effective and fair services, which DPP is wholly dedicated to providing.”
Following an investigation by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation into allegations of corruption at the DPP, honest services wire fraud charges were filed against Padeken and five others, including Wayne Inouye, a now-retired building plans examiner. The group executed a plan that involved city workers taking bribes in exchange for performing official acts at DPP.
“This sentence marks the end of these DPP employees scheming and accepting bribes, thus corrupting the system,” said Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu field office. “Today’s sentence reinforces to the public that the FBI remains committed in investigating and holding those accountable as they deprived the people of Honolulu of the honest services to which they’re entitled.”
Padeken took bribes from Wong on a nearly monthly basis between 2017 and 2020. Wong deposited checks into Padeken’s account at a credit union, then sent her text messages on her personal cellphone after making the deposits.
Wong also paid about $89,000 in bribes to Inouye. Inouye, 66, a former 38-year veteran of the city Department of Planning and Permitting, entered a plea of guilty Oct. 17, 2022, to accepting $103,000 in bribes to pre-screen plans and expedite approval of permits for contractors and an architect.
U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi sentenced him to 60 months on each of the seven counts, to be served concurrently. She also ordered Inouye to serve 24 months of supervised release for each count, to be served concurrently. He must pay a $700 special assessment and a $5,000 fine. His sentence reflected Wong’s “substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and prosecution of others,” according to the U.S. attorney. Inouye paid a $100,000 fine for taking more than $103,000 in bribes and for making false statements to a federal investigator. Because Inouye returned the bribe money after learning of the government’s investigation, a fine, rather than forfeiture, was sought by the government, according to federal prosecutors.
Jocelyn Godoy was working in the DPP’s data access and imaging branch when she solicited and took more than $800 in bribes from an architect and third-party reviewer, according to court records.
She was sentenced to 60 days in prison, two years of federal probation and paid a $100 special assessment. Godoy reports to the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu on Sept. 12.
Jason Dadez, a former DPP building inspector, pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to a charge that involved accepting a $1,000 check from owners of a Waipahu restaurant and corresponding with an architect about an Ala Wai Boulevard residence. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and two years of probation and forfeiture of the $12,900 in bribes he took.
Jennie Javonillo, 73, of Waipahu, a former building plans examiner at DPP, was sentenced on June 27, 2022, to 30 months in federal prison, two years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and forfeiture of the $58,000 in bribes she took.
