State attorney general to probe UH mismanagement allegation

The state Attorney General’s Office has agreed to investigate allegations by a prominent engineer that a top University of Hawaii official wasted potentially millions of dollars through blatant mismanagement of construction projects.

Dennis Mitsunaga, a prominent fund-raiser for the Democratic Party whose engineering firm does work for the school, has accused Brian Minaai, UH’s associate vice president for capital improvements, of wasting taxpayer dollars by, among other things, steering contracts to friends.

Mitsunaga first made the allegations in testimony he submitted recently for a Senate bill.

The university said today the attorney general’s office would report the findings of its investigation to the Board of Regents. No timetable was mentioned.