Newswatch
City prosecutors think differently. Yesterday, police arrested the 40-year-old Oahu woman on a grand jury indictment accusing her of unlawful operation of a business, money-laundering and promoting prostitution.
They also seized Wilson's 1991 Mercedes, valued at $70,000, along with a Rolex watch, $8,500 in cash and business records.
The ring is one of the biggest uncovered locally in recent memory and has been in operation for 15 years, city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro said.
The case also represents the first time prosecutors have used a newly revised state money-laundering law in the fight against prostitution.
"We are using the law to take the profit out of prostitution," Kaneshiro said. "Crime literally does not pay when you hit the criminals in their pocketbooks. In this case our target is the pimp."
That's especially important when few convicted prostitutes end up serving jail time because of prison overcrowding, he said.
The money-laundering allegedly involved Wilson's use of prostitution money to operate five Honolulu escort businesses: Pleasure Principle, Tsuki's Asian Delight, The Ultimate in Paradise, Pleasure Seekers and Mandate. A Yellow Pages ad for Pleasure Principle boasts that it is Hawaii's oldest escort service.
Until last year, the state's money-laundering law could be used only in cases where funds were laundered through a financial institution, Kaneshiro said. But the 1995 Legislature revised the law to allow for its use in cases where illegally gained money is used to run an illegal operation, making it easier to use against alleged prostitution rings, he said.
So it was disturbing and ironic to Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky and his flock when they discovered yesterday that the large menorah in Waikiki Gateway Park had been toppled by vandals.
An anonymously faxed message contained a drawing of a group of people standing next to the fallen menorah with the caption, "The menorah has been put to the ground."
Krasnjansky and several others gathered at the park last night to stand the heavy steel traditional candelabra upright and secure it with ropes.
"Our intention is not to be intimidated or tone down who we are or the message Hanukkah imparts," said Krasnjansky, who is rabbi for Chabad of Hawaii.
"The message is tolerance, respect for one another and celebrating our religious freedoms. ... The theme of Hanukkah is the idea of tolerance. We enjoy a good relationship with all the different faiths in Hawaii."
The Weinberg Village has provided housing and case-management services for about 700 adults and children. The staff has worked with remaining families to relocate them, the Hawaii Housing Authority reported.
The Weinberg Village in Haleiwa was built with funds from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., as well as state funds. The structures will be moved to other sites.
The woman was sitting near the snack bar about 9 p.m. when the men approached, police said. One man allegedly sexually assaulted her while the other held her.
Police have no suspects.
Spec. Earl D. Krepp, 28, of Huntington Beach, Calif., was assigned to the Army's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. There is no evidence of foul play, U.S. Embassy and Vietnamese officials said.
Morris, 19, was driving ewa bound on the Moanalua Freeway just before 2 a.m. when he apparently lost control of the car and was broadsided by another car.
His male passenger, 19, of Makiki was in serious condition at Tripler Hospital. The driver of the other car, a 25-
year-old Waipahu woman, was in fair condition at Queen's Hospital.
- Monsignor upgraded to stable condition following car accident
- Escapee captured by authorities