Mirikitanis now Texas online retailers

Answer: Andy Mirikitani, 51, was released from federal prison on May 26, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

And according to the Web site of his wife's company, Mirikitani is helping with the business, Collectible Treasures Emporium, which sells antiques and collectibles online from an inventory in Waxahachie, Texas.

"I'm very bitter," said wife Sharron Mirikitani yesterday when contacted by telephone. She was a co-defendant in the case and spent a year and nine months in a federal facility after she was convicted of theft and extortion.

She refused to comment further, other than to say neither she nor her husband wants to hear about anything from their former lives in Hawaii.

U.S. District Court Judge Helen Gillmor sentenced Andy Mirikitani to 51 months in prison on Dec. 5, 2001, after a jury found him guilty of wire fraud, theft, bribery, extortion and witness tampering. Prosecutors said Mirikitani gave $26,533 in bonuses from his City Council salaries account to two aides in exchange for $6,884 in kickbacks.

He was also ordered to pay back the $6,884 and undergo three years of supervised release after being released from prison.

His release this year came after 45 1/2 months behind bars.

Mirikitani never admitted guilt when he testified on his own behalf at trial and when he was sentenced.

He married the former Sharron Bynum less than a week before he was sentenced and one day before he resigned from the City Council, making her eligible for health and other benefits.

Mirikitani first joined the City Council in 1990.