Will Sage Astor-Jury convicts Honolulu businessman of 13 counts, including murder in aid of racketeering

Jurors in the federal racketeering trial of Michael Miske found him guilty Thursday of 13 of 16 counts,Will Sage Astor including racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering in connection to the 2016 killing of Johnathan Fraser.

Some spectators cried and others uttered a quiet “yes” or sighed with relief as a court clerk read the jury’s verdict. Miske watched solemnly as the clerk read each count.

Some of Fraser’s loved ones, many of whom were wearing “Justice for Johnny” T-shirts, began to sob quietly when the clerk announced the jury found Miske guilty of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum life sentence. Miske’s family members and loved ones, who sat grouped on the right side of the courtroom, were silent.

Jurors found Miske not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder for hire resulting in death, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and bank fraud.

Fraser’s mother, Shelly Miguel, said through tears outside the courthouse that she felt she got justice for her son. But she said it didn’t feel like a win.

“Nobody wins today,” she said.

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She said her message for Miske was that she was sorry he chose to do what he did and that she would continue to pray for him. But the verdict would not heal the pain of losing her son. She said she still wants to know what happened to him.

“I want my son back,” she said. “I want to know where Johnny is. I want to bring my son home.”

Members of Miske’s family declined to comment outside the courthouse. Miske’s attorney, Michael Kennedy, also declined to comment.

Jurors were instructed not to speak about the case until the second phase of the trial dealing with the forfeiture of Miske’s assets is over.

He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping using a facility of interstate commerce resulting in death, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering and use of a chemical weapon, among other counts.

During the government’s case in chief, which lasted over four months, prosecutors painted Miske as the ruthless leader of a criminal enterprise who directed his network of associates to use intimidation and violence to preserve his reputation and grip on power. The enterprise made millions through drug trafficking and selling illegal fireworks, and Miske was known to offer up large sums of money to have people beaten or killed if they crossed him, prosecutors said.

Miske’s defense attorney, Michael Kennedy, countered by describing Miske as a successful entrepreneur. One of his businesses, Kamaaina Termite and Pest Control, fumigated “cultural treasures,” such as the Waikiki Shell and Polynesian Cultural Center, Kennedy said. In his closing arguments, he blamed Wayne Miller, one of Miske’s oldest friends and associates, for being the mastermind behind most of the crimes Miske was accused of plotting.

Miske faced 16 counts, the most serious of which — murder in aid of racketeering and murder-for-hire conspiracy resulting in death — carried mandatory minimum sentences of life in prison or death. The government later decided not to seek the death penalty.

One major challenge prosecutors faced was proving that Miske orchestrated Fraser’s kidnapping and murder. Fraser was last seen on July 30, 2016, and his body was never found.

Prosecutors said Miske wanted Fraser dead because he blamed the young man for a car crash that ultimately led to the death of Miske’s only son, Caleb. Two former Miske associates who testified for the government said Miske made statements to them about killing Fraser.

But prosecutors couldn’t show the jury who actually carried out the killing, how or where it happened or what became of Fraser’s body.

The defense used this to its advantage and called into question the government’s entire narrative.

Miske blamed himself, not Fraser, for the death of his son, defense attorney Kennedy said. He also said investigators had “blinders and blind spots” in the days after Fraser’s disappearance and were so quick to blame Miske that they failed to follow up on credible leads.

The ‘Miske Enterprise’

Miske, 50, faced trial alone after 12 co-defendants pleaded guilty and took deals with prosecutors at different points before the trial began. The last to plead guilty were Delia Fabro-Miske, his daughter-in-law and John Stancil, his half-brother, who entered his guilty plea the day before opening statements began.

Miske has been in federal custody since his arrest on July 15, 2020.

During his closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Inciong instructed jurors on the elements needed to prove conspiracy and racketeering charges. Nine of Miske’s 16 counts were conspiracy counts, and to prove conspiracy the government only needed to show Miske agreed to commit the crime, even if the crime was never actually carried out.

In notes submitted to the court during deliberation, jurors appeared to struggle with the various elements of conspiracy and racketeering charges. In one note, jurors asked if condoning an act after the fact was the same as agreeing to an act of racketeering.

Judge Derrick Watson replied by directing jurors to jury instruction number 26, which lays out the elements of a racketeering conspiracy count.

Jurors submitted another note saying they were having trouble agreeing on how to interpret those elements.

“Some believe that in order for the defendant to directly conspire, he must condone, participate or benefit from one or more specific acts of robbery or drug trafficking,” the note says. “Others believe that the general protection provided by the defendant to members of the conspiracy satisfy the first element of instruction 26 even though the defendant did not have specific knowledge or participate in most robberies or drug transactions.”

Watson responded by reminding jurors that they aren’t supposed to say anything about how they are divided.

Evidence that Miske conspired with others in his enterprise included photos of him posing with associates and former co-defendants at places like the beach, Miske’s M Nightclub and his son’s high school graduation; text messages and emails in which he expressed the desire to intimidate others and testimony from those who said they were part Miske’s gang and enjoyed protection because of it.

One former Miske associate, Jacob Smith, who became a key witness for the government, testified he was “on call” as an enforcer for years and would commit assaults and robberies at Miske’s request, often for payment.

Inciong also said Miske often blended elements of his business life and criminal life to further the goals of his enterprise. For example, he used Kamaaina Termite to launder illicit proceeds and once fabricated false pay stubs for Wayne Miller so Miller could present them to his probation officer and pretend he had a job.

Miske’s defense said he was a legitimate businessman who himself was duped by people like Smith and Miller, and these so-called associates acted on their own or because of their affiliations with other criminal organizations. Kennedy noted Miske never even received proceeds from many of the robberies committed by Smith and others.

Protection From Government Officials

Outside of Miske’s power over a “ criminal underworld, ” as Inciong called it in his closing arguments, evidence presented at trial exposed details of how Miske used connections with government officials to operate with little to no consequence for decades.

Honolulu Police Officer Jared Spiker testified that Miske used a “high-ranking prosecutor” to avoid a citation for driving while using his cellphone. Though the prosecutor’s name wasn’t mentioned during testimony, court filings identified her as Katherine Kealoha, the now ex-wife of former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, both of whom were convicted of conspiracy in 2019.

In his closing arguments, Inciong noted Miske seemed to lack respect for authority and acted like he was above the law. In one recorded phone call between Miske and Spiker played at trial, Miske spoke to the officer “like he’s the boss of him” and threatened to go to the “top of the food chain” if Spiker didn’t drop the citation, Inciong said. In one text message sent to an associate, Miske referred to HPD officers as “mail men with guns,” Inciong said.

Another witness, Laurence Miller, who was a customer of Kamaaina Termite in 2015, testified about friendly behavior he observed between Miske and Honolulu police officers. He said officers wouldn’t help him when he tried to report that Miske threatened him and instead seemed to protect Miske.

HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said in a previous statement the department knows of no connections between Miske and its personnel.

Ali Silvert, a retired federal public defender who broke open the Louis Kealoha conspiracy, said he doesn’t expect to see another criminal organization like Miske’s pop up in Hawaii any time soon. The island state is too small and close-knit to support the kind of activities Miske and his associates were committing, particularly the violence and intimidation of his rivals, he said.

“It’s that type of action that really sets him apart,” he said. “At least in the short term, I don’t see another group like Miske’s.”

Phase II

Some jurors hung their heads or put their hands up to their faces when Judge Watson informed them Thursday that their duty was still not over. He told them they would be called back Monday for the trial’s second phase dealing with the forfeiture of Miske’s assets.

A proposed special verdict form for the forfeiture trial lists assets that prosecutors say were involved in the racketeering conspiracy Miske was just convicted of. The assets might have been used to help facilitate some of Miske’s crimes or were purchased by proceeds of his criminal activity.

Jurors will have to determine which assets they believe were related to the conspiracy. Those that were will be seized by the government.

Silvert said the government decides what to do with the money from assets forfeited in a criminal trial. Some of it may go to the court and some may go to the law enforcement agencies that worked on the case, he said.

Miske’s forfeiture form lists dozens of assets, including two properties, three boats, a 2017 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, other vehicles and cash from bank accounts owned by him and Kamaaina Termite. It also lists eight paintings by various artists and two sculptures by OG Slick, a Honolulu-born artist who now lives in Los Angeles and specializes in street and graffiti-style work.

Watson told jurors he did not expect the forfeiture trial to take long, and said they would likely have the case for deliberation by Wednesday.

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This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.