A Native Hawaiian defense contractor at the center of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into potential financial
and tax crimes landed a $52.5 million contract for fire debris removal in
Lahaina.
The Hawaii Native Corp., with its 11 Dawson operating subsidiaries, has previously stated that the ongoing criminal probe does not involve company operations.
The U.S. Department of Justice declined comment.
“Several NHO 8(a) contractors were considered for this contract. Per the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District considered and reviewed each contractor’s technical capability, available capacity, and past performance, amongst other required conditions. After completing this vetting process, Dawson Solutions, LLC was eligible for contract award and award was made,” said Edward Rivera, regional public affairs specialist
for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Southwestern
Division.
Rivera referred questions about the investigation’s impact on the contract with Dawson to Derek Kekaulike, a general manager with the Dawson Ohana.
Kekaulike did not immediately reply to Honolulu Star-Advertiser requests for comment.
The company will help with the removal of fire debris from private property
in Lahaina where fires on Aug. 8 killed at least 98, destroyed more than 2,000 structures and left at least 7,500 people homeless.
It is the second cleanup contract Opens in a new tab secured by the
Hawaiian Native Corp. and one of its 11 Dawson subsidiaries since agents with the Internal Revenue Service and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service executed a search warrant June 27 at the Dawson office at 900 Fort Street Mall.
DCIS is the criminal investigative arm of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense. The Defense Department awarded the Lahaina cleanup contract to HNC subsidiary Dawson Solutions on Tuesday.
On July 1, Dawson started a $2.13 million sole-sourced contract to provide fire suppression system maintenance at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility for a six-month
period.
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii previously stated it learned about the DCIS and IRS investigation on June 30, the day before the contract was awarded.
Before it awarded the Red Hill contract to the company, the Navy confirmed that Dawson was not disbarred or suspended prior to award in the System for Award Management under the government’s
Excluded Parties List
System.
The criminal investigation, being run by the U.S. attorney for the District of Hawaii, continues while the contractor manages its decades-long business relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Federal prosecutors
did not respond to Star-Advertiser requests for comment.
HNC and its Dawson subsidiaries are in their 29th year of operation. The companies employ about 1,200 people across 18 offices in 47 states and 20 countries.
Dawson officials declined Star-Advertiser requests for an interview. Company officials maintain the criminal investigation is not focused on any of their companies and has not affected Dawson’s operations or existing contracts.
Christopher Mailani Dawson, 60, HNC founder, board chairman and Dawson chief executive officer, took administrative leave, retained legal counsel
and has declined Star-Advertiser requests for an interview.
Dawson relinquished all operating, management and decision-making
responsibilities relating to the HNC and the Dawson operating companies.
On Tuesday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $52.5 million contract for hazardous site assessments for household material and bulk asbestos removal in Lahaina and Kula/Olinda to Dawson Solutions LLC.
All 11 of the Dawson subsidiaries are Native Hawaiian Organization 8(a) contractors, according to a news release.
The private property debris removal contract is for three months of work.
USACE is managing the removal of the debris on Maui through missions assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that include the removal
of debris from private
property.
The cleanup process includes two phases.
Phase one is currently underway, according to the release, and involves the removal of hazardous materials by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Phase two involves the removal of other fire-related debris by Army engineers, and debris will be removed only if property and business owners grant permission via a completed right-of-entry form.
The County of Maui will “identify and oversee
priorities during the fire cleanup” while working in partnership with the state and federal agencies supporting the community with this process.
The Dawson companies are subsidiaries of Christopher Dawson’s Hawaiian Native Corp., “a Native Hawaiian Organization federally certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration since 2004,” according to the website. Core services include professional and technical services, construction, operations and maintenance, and environmental services.
It is part of the SBA’s 8(a) business development program, which was created to provide support to small, disadvantaged businesses, “particularly with gaining access to the federal marketplace,” according to the Native Hawaiian Organizations Association.
Small businesses owned by Native entities such as NHOs, tribes and Alaska Native corporations are authorized to participate in the SBA 8(a) program under special rules.
While the rules differ depending on the Native entity, the ultimate intent of the Native 8(a) program is to provide Native communities with the ability to develop self-sufficient economic ventures that support their communities.
