A federal appeals court has rejected another challenge of the felony convictions of former union leader Gary Rodrigues, who was recently released from prison after serving more than four years for conspiracy, embezzlement and other charges.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled Tuesday that an omission in the instructions to the jury that found Rodrigues guilty was not significant and did not influence the panel in reaching its verdict.
Rodrigues, former state director of the United Public Workers union, was released earlier this month, his attorney Eric Seitz said.
Seitz said Rodrigues is in Honolulu, settling in and looking for a job, but is barred under federal law from a union position because of the conviction.
"We think it’s wrong," Seitz said about Tuesday’s ruling.
Seitz said Rodrigues probably will continue pressing his challenge either by asking for a larger 9th Circuit panel to review Tuesday’s ruling or by seeking an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rodrigues declined to comment.
In rejecting the challenge, Appeals Judge Stephen Trott opened the 18-page opinion with Sir Walter Scott’s quote:
"Oh what a tangled web we weave
when first we practice to deceive!"
"I think the quotation accurately sums up the nature of Mr. Rodrigues’ conduct, so it was quite appropriate," Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong said.
"We are extremely pleased with the affirmance of all convictions," Tong said.
Rodrigues was convicted in 2002 of 101 criminal charges that included conspiracy, theft, embezzling union money, money laundering and health care fraud.
He was sentenced to five years and four months in prison but allowed to remain free pending an earlier appeal that was also turned down by the appeals court.
He began serving his term in early 2008 and paid UPW $378,000 in restitution.
Seitz said Rodrigues received credit from the sentence for good behavior.
Prisoners also are often released to halfway houses about six months before their sentence ends, Tong said.
Rodrigues was once considered a powerful figure as the longtime leader of one of the largest labor unions in the state.
The state director of the UPW since 1981, Rodrigues was elected in 1985 as president of the Hawaii State Federation of the AFL-CIO.
During the 1990s he served on a committee to recommend trustees to the Hawaii Supreme Court and the state Judicial Selection Commission.
But starting in 1998, he came under fire for a series of Honolulu Star-Bulletin stories about allegations of misuse of union resources.
Rodrigues maintained he did nothing wrong.
But the jury convicted him of enriching himself by taking kickbacks and steering money to shell companies owned by his daughter, Robin Haunani Rodrigues Sabatini.
Rodrigues’ scheme involved negotiating "consultant fees" into contracts with dental and health insurance companies.
The money ended up with his designated consultants — Al Loughrin, stepfather of Rodrigues’ girlfriend and secretary, and Sabatini’s companies — according to Tuesday’s court opinion.
The consultants did not perform any real consultant work, and part of the fees was diverted to Rodrigues, the court said.
Sabatini was also convicted of mail fraud, money laundering and related charges and sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.
Rodrigues’ latest challenge involved a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2007 issued after his trial and after his initial appeal was turned down by the appeals court.
Rodrigues was convicted of "theft of honest services."
The high court’s ruling held that such a conviction should be limited to bribes and kickbacks.
The jury wasn’t instructed about the limitation, but the appeal court’s decision said the omission of that jury instruction did not hurt Rodrigues’ case or influence the jury in reaching its guilty verdicts.
