Politics

Hawaii’s $35,000 Bandit … revealed?

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke says she might know the identity.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, flanked by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, left, and lawmakers standing around him, signs legislation at a bill-signing ceremony in Honolulu, Friday, March 31, 2023. Green signed seven good-government bills drafted in response to news that two former lawmakers had accepted bribes in exchange for influencing legislation. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

Two weeks ago, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez opened an investigation into the scandal surrounding a 2023 corruption case in which a lawmaker was reportedly captured on tape accepting a large bribe in a paper bag.

The question of that lawmaker’s identity has roiled Hawaii’s insular, one-party politics: Who was the culprit accepting so much cash — someone wags had dubbed the $35,000 Bandit — caught on tape by then-Rep. Ty Cullen, a Democrat who was wearing the wire at the behest of the FBI.

Stay informed
Subscribe to keep reading.

Sign up today to get the latest state new at your fingertips and in your inbox.